Working Effectively With Americans is designed to help Japanese gain a better understanding of their American colleagues’ behavior and gain skills for improving communications. A full outline of the contents is below.
We will use interactive techniques to make the session as lively as one of our live sessions. And indeed, we have been finding that Japanese participants can be more likely to ask questions in an online setting.
The session will be taught by Hiroshi Iwasaki, a longtime member of the Japan Intercultural Consulting team.
This is a full day session, which will deliver the full contents of our usual in-person sessions.
Session contents:
Thinking about Culture
Cultural tendencies vs. stereotypes
Why do misunderstandings occur?
Avoiding the pitfalls of cross-cultural communication
Case Studies: Communicating with Americans
Dealing with the language barrier
Communication style
Understanding American direct communication style
Being direct while also being nice
Hints on phrasing
Conversation topics to be avoided
Good conversation topics
Case Studies: Leadership Style and Verbal Direction
American “football coach” model vs. Japanese “karate teacher” model
Leadership in the U.S.
Qualities of leaders desired by Americans
Verbal direction in Japan and the U.S.
Techniques for giving direction
Contrast of American teaching/learning style and Japanese teaching/learning style
Feedback techniques
Specific Cultural Challenges
Risk avoidance and speed of decision-making
Process vs. results orientation
Understanding the U.S. labor market and employee expectations
Blending American and Japanese Styles
Common problems encountered by Japanese-affiliated companies in the U.S.
Factors that Japanese companies need to be careful about
Symptoms of employment friction
Potential negative effects of employment friction on the company
Key Skills for Effective Communication
Coping with the language barrier
If you are working with translators
5 C’s of cross-cultural communication: clarity, consistency, context, confirmation, conflict avoidance
Including Americans in information flow
Example of a negative practice
Social activities as a group
Increase the opportunities for communication
Be approachable
