Succeed overseas!
To do so, it is important that you improve the way in which you communicate with clients. Research shows that one in five companies is losing business because of language and cultural barriers.
An international communication plan will help you to address these issues.
Benefits of cultural skills:
- Reception and switchboard staff, who deal with overseas visitors and callers and need to have an awareness of how to communicate politely across different cultures
- Export team, who deal regularly with existing and prospective overseas clients whose business etiquette may be quite different
Cultural awareness will avoid potential barriers and embarrassment when dealing face-to-face with business people from overseas markets.
Benefits
Cultural and intercultural awareness of specific international markets is vital. It will give you relevant information on business etiquette as well as a good understanding of the people you may encounter when conducting business in those markets.
Intercultural competence skills will equip you to work effectively in multilingual and multicultural teams. It can make all the difference in a whole range of business transactions.
Benefits of translation services
Translation deals with the written word. Professional translators possess a very high level of skill in the languages they work in, but they also need to be knowledgeable in the business context they are translating in, e.g. engineering, telecommunications, accounting.
Professional translators can be engaged for the translation of sales and promotional literature, operation manuals, correspondence, contracts, etc.
Benefits of interpreting
Interpreting deals with the spoken word. Like translation, it is a highly specialised field of work and it requires specific expertise, both in terms of language skills and subject area.
Translation and interpreting require very different professional skills. As such, a good translator may not be a good interpreter, and vice-versa.
Professional interpreters should be engaged to interpret at business meetings between two or more parties, multilingual conferences and at international fairs.
Benefits of website translation and localisation
The translation and the localisation of your website - localisation means attuning it to cultural expectations - will help you promote your services more successfully in overseas markets. The choice of languages will depend on the markets you are targeting.
RLN NW provides free guides on how best to commission services from language professionals and cultural briefing consultants.
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