Working with international colleagues

Re: Working with international colleagues

• jesuisfatiguee member

  January 2014

  I haven't been in your situation, and don't have a lot of pointers, but one thing that trips up a lot of Americans is the way dates are arranged. January 12, 2014 (American abbreviation: 01/12/14) would be abbreviated 12/01/14. So pay extra close attention that. And maybe watch some movies with actors using French accents?

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Report0 Reply
• Loading the player...
• jf198400 member

  January 2014

  It's funny we actually have specific training on using international dates on all formal documents.

  
  
  
  
  

  Report1 Reply
• WBMom member

  January 2014

  I am on calls with individuals from our company who are international.  Typically I multi-task on phone calls (I know - not a good thing) but realized quickly that I could not and had to devote my full attention to the call.  It does get better!  Once I became familiar with particular individuals I talked to alot then it became much easier for me to clearly understand them (as I am sure it became easier for them to understand me).

  

  Report2 Reply
• shannm member

  January 2014

  It does get easier and if there is anyway to do a face to face via global connect or Skype, or whatever being able to see his face would help.

  Report0 Reply
• iverske9 member

  January 2014

  I think with time it will get easier to understand, for now I would also ask for emails to give overviews or synopsis via email to make sure you didn't miss anything. 

  Report0 Reply
• Avion22 member

  January 2014

  In my experience, people usually have no trouble understanding Americans because they are so used to seeing American movies, television shows, etc.  As long as you don't use too much slang or speak too quickly, most people won't have too much trouble understanding you.

  
  

  I've had trouble understanding accents, especially French accents (though Scots can be difficult to understand at first too).  It helps to be able to see them, so Skype or some other video teleconference will help a lot.  It does require you pay attention a lot at first, but it gets a lot easier after a while :-)

    

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  Report0 Reply
• jc&cat member

  January 2014

  I work mostly with international team members. Some accents are more difficult that others and I find the French accent is a tough one but once you get going, you will get more and more comfortable. Do not be hesitant to ask him to repeat something if you don't understand it. Remember, Americans typically talk "fast" and we tend to use alot of slang so he may be asking you to slow down or repeat something. We tend to email alot and that helps fill in some of the gaps if there are any.

  Keep the culture in mind. You may want to grab a book or do some research on the working culture. When I started working heavily with Dutch collegues, a co worker got this book and it was very helpful to me. https://www.amazon.com/The-UnDutchables-observation-netherlands-inhabitants/dp/188858047X  Maybe something like this for France is out there.

  Now if this guy is your boss, that introduces another complexity. I was butting heads with a Belgian woman I reported to for a while and we figured out it was very culturally based differences. I hope you don't encounter any issues but don't discount culture or interpretation if you run into any snags.

  Last, I hope you get some face to face time periodically.

  Good luck!

   

  Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml

  Report0 Reply
• Amelia4 member

  January 2014

  I agree to watch out for the slang and for conversational phrases that won't translate well. It will get easier over time.  And I actually find that seeing the person doesn't always help.  There is one person in particular that when I speak with him, I have to close my eyes when he talks so I can understand the accent.  We only ever spoke by phone, so that trick worked for me.  Good luck finding something that works for you and I hope you ear gets used to the accent quickly!

   

  

  Report0 Reply
• mae0111 member

  January 2014

  I agree with others - it really is just something you get used to.  I work with colleagues all over the globe - UK, France, China, India, Hong Kong, Japan, and more.  I tend to go out of my way to work around their schedules because I'm working in the home office, and some of the remote offices tend to feel a bit left out of things.  It's just a small thing, but I think it goes a long way.  And I don't mind jumping on a call after the kids are in bed.

  
  

  Good luck - it will get easier!

  Report0 Reply
• massdreams member

  January 2014

  shannm said:

  It does get easier and if there is anyway to do a face to face via global connect or Skype, or whatever being able to see his face would help.

  I agree with this. We recently had an online class at the college I'm working at taught by someone with a decent accent. He ran some class discussions, but simply using voice/phone conferencing technology. Switching to something that was face to face and allowing the students to see him talk made a big difference. They were able to follow what he was saying much better.
  

  

  Report0 Reply