Cross-cultural Public Speaking

Mastering the art of public speaking can be a difficult task for many. How is it that some people seem to capture and hold an audience so well, sometimes for even the most boring of subjects? While imagining that your listeners are all naked might work for you, there are much better tricks to remember when you want to give a captivating presentation. Keeping these tips in the forefront of your mind will help your speech every time, especially in the special situation where your audience is one of many backgrounds and, as a result, has varying expectations.

Things to remember when speaking publicly. The ultimate goal of your presentation is to share your information in a manner that your audience will understand and remember. To achieve this, it is important to keep your listeners interested in what you are saying so they will be totally absorbed in your words.

• Make your presentation a story. Everyone loves stories, which are by nature easy to remember. Incorporating a plot with characters and personalities will spice up your speech, especially if it´s related to your place of origin or upbringing in a different culture.
• Involve your audience. When speaking in front of a room of many cultures, or an audience whose background is different from your own, your words may be interpreted in ways other than you intended. By allowing room for feedback and incorporating the listener, you can measure how your message is being received and thus make appropriate adjustments.
• Stay genuine. Honesty is one of the most important virtues around the globe. It is a value that consistently cuts through cultural barriers. People are keen on dishonesty and, if they sense even the slightest bit of insincerity, you will lose all credibility and listener interest.
• Don’t impress. While this may seem counter-intuitive, the fact of the matter is that most people don’t care about your awards and certifications. Carefully choose your words and actions so that you aren’t implying that you are better than your audience in any way. Your listeners will only absorb your words if they feel that they are being respected, not contested.

There isn’t one perfect way to give a good presentation. Ultimately, what will define the success of your presentation is not necessarily how well you gave it. More important is how your audience interprets your message and what they choose to do with it. When all is said and done, the ultimate success of your presentation lies in your audience and the impact that your message has on them.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The Gender of Culture: How it May Affect Your Brand

What is popular in society is always changing. This includes not only music and fashion but also commonly held beliefs, values, attitudes, and interests.

An interesting and notable attitude change that has been occurring in the United States in the last century has been that of the roles of men and women. Moreover, because of the strong influence that the U.S. has over the culture of the rest of the world, similar trends can be found internationally. In other societies, products and services once marketed for a specific gender are becoming increasingly gender-neutral as the social roles of men and women become less defined.

The role that gender plays. What is normal for a particular gender is in an ongoing state of change. But this is not limited to just specific roles that each gender plays. In some countries, there is some evidence that the consumer behaviors of men and women differ, and that there is a long way before the two will be totally the same. Men and women are not viewed as equals. There are nations that tend to be either more masculine or feminine regardless of the gender of the consumer. The masculine and feminine dimension of cultures plays a very important role in respect to the consumer values and how they affect behavior.

Masculine vs. feminine cultures. Masculine cultures value success, competitiveness, achievement, and accumulation of wealth. Feminine cultures, on the other hand, are more people-oriented; relationships and the quality of life are more highly valued. Wealth or material possessions are not as important to them.

What does this mean for your brand? If you want to reach markets beyond your borders, the role that gender plays in your target market is crucial. Where is your market located, and what is the norm there? Keep in mind that what may seem gender-neutral to you may appear highly masculine—or feminine—in some countries.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Personal Branding Across Cultures
By Marcela Jenney-Reyes
How does personal branding “translate” around the globe in other cultures?

Get Excited About Your Brand

It is undeniable that humans foster relationships with certain brands, sometimes favoring some companies for reasons they can’t explain. What many consumers fail to realize is that behind the loving relationship with their favorite product is a marketing specialist who cleverly creates an appealing brand personality designed to lure them in.

A brand’s personality is designed to be human-like, so consumer-product relationships can grow in a way that is similar to real interpersonal bonding. However, a factor that must be taken into consideration when marketers design this personality is creating one that can be interpreted in a globally consistent manner. The vast differences between cultural values around the world make this a difficult task.

Luckily, according to Jennifer Aaker, five key “personality dimensions” stand out and are regarded highly everywhere. In my last article I emphasized the importance of the “sincerity” dimension. But a dimension that more obviously stands out in this list is “excitement.”

What is meant by “excitement”? The word “excitement” brings to mind other vibrant words: unconventionality, style, passion, loudness, movement, exhilaration, thrill, etc. This high-energy word implies never-ending fun and a total lack of boredom.

What does this mean for your brand? People are constantly searching for the means to better enjoy their lives. In this increasingly materialistic society, the vast majority craves to be trendy and sharp, and many are resorting to products and companies that help them fulfill this want. By incorporating the excitement dimension into your brand’s personality, you are creating an image that appeals to this specific customer desire. When you market your brand as exciting, you are sending out a message to your customers that your product is fun, happy, and popular while also subtly advertising that the use of your product will make their lives the same.

Why is this important? The importance of maintaining a globally consistent brand is great. Your goal is to appeal to an international market, while also keeping the interpretation of what your brand means consistent everywhere. The easiest way to do this is to incorporate one or some of Aaker’s five key personality dimensions into your brand’s personality. When this is done, you can market your brand the same way everywhere it is available.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Personal Branding Across Cultures
By Marcela Jenney-Reyes
How does personal branding “translate” around the globe in other cultures?

The Sincerity of Your Brand Personality

Marketers are faced with a tough task when it comes to constructing a personality to represent their brand. This is something that must be done intentionally, because in a vast market where a variety of choices exist, consumers ultimately make decisions based on the “feel” of a product. The vibes that a brand gives off are the result of a set of characteristics that marketers strategically give it. These characteristics are human-like by design, allowing customers to personally connect with a product, and thus build a relationship with it.

The cultural differences
Maintaining a consistent brand personality can prove to be difficult when a brand is marketed identically across the globe. The norms and values that are most important to a society vary across cultures, potentially leading to an array of interpretations of a brand’s personality. To amend this, some advocate slightly tweaking the way a brand is marketed for different cultures. The result of this should be a consistent representation of a brand across the world, despite differences in culture. However, this is not always necessary.

Sincerity
So, when keeping the brand identical between cultures, how does one know the ideal characteristics to give a brand for optimal human-product bonding?

A study conducted by Jennifer Aaker points to five key “personality dimensions” that are globally embraced. One that stands out as being notably influential is the dimension of sincerity. Brand personalities are often the basis for a long-term relationship with your brand.

Volvo, the Swedish carmaker, is a great example of a brand depicting this personality trait. Volvo is all about highlighting safety, design, performance and the environment, the traits associated with its brand. These traits are important to the Volvo driver who is aware that these elements are thoroughly considered in the design process. Volvo has been sincere not just to its brand but also to its consumers.

Aim for your brand to come across as honest, genuine, straightforward, balanced, and/or sensible. Sincerity is a human trait that is globally valued, and integral in the building of a relationship in which trust is a main component. The importance of trust in any relationship is irrefutable. Keep sincerity in mind when constructing your brand’s human persona. To be sincere, always practice what you preach.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Personal Branding Across Cultures
By Marcela Jenney-Reyes
How does personal branding “translate” around the globe in other cultures?

Negotiating Across Cultures: Deal Maker or Deal Breaker?

The interactions that take place between two businesses during the negotiation process of a deal can determine whether or not the deal runs smoothly and is successful. However, acting so that your potential partner is comfortable with you and happy with the proposal can sometimes rely on much more than just the hard details of a contract, especially when the other party involved is of a different culture. There are important cultural factors to keep in mind when negotiating internationally because they play a major role in how a person communicates and interprets others.

The importance of time. One of the most significant differences between some cultures is the emphasis that is placed on time. Americans typically negotiate on a contract-to-contract basis, strongly linking time and money; they make a point of being efficient, punctual, and finishing things quickly. However, operating this way with some Eastern cultures—who value inter-business relationships rather than one-time deals—may come across as an attempt to rush and thus hide things, so negotiations may end with distrust and on a subpar level.

The forces at play. In addition to how different cultures view time, there are many other culturally influenced negotiation and business styles to take into account when doing business internationally. To get a general idea of these behaviors, attitudes, and patterns, it may help to first look at the objective conditions governing a culture. Consider a country’s political system, any nationally significant religion(s), the relative structure and importance of the family unit, and the language. Some factors to think about:

• A culture’s emphasis on the importance of formality in communication
• How open a culture is to taking risks
• If a culture views rigid details and contract complexity to be important
• If your partner views the negotiation as a one-time deal or the beginning of a harmonious relationship
• One singular leader vs. group decision-making

From this, one may be able to deduce the standards governing routine business negotiations.

Don’t stereotype. It is important to remember that this is a globalized economy where the world is figuratively “becoming smaller and smaller”. The differences between nations and cultures may be less obvious than we anticipate, and, as a result, the whole issue of cultural sensitivity during negotiation may be ignored. If we blindly accept certain standards as our guidelines, it can be easy to stereotype a culture and accidentally treat them inadequately. Remember also that even in one culture there can exist many differences between individuals. That being said, it may be helpful to be practical when negotiating internationally and follow a “whatever works” mindset. Ask questions so you can be sure of the situation, and avoid getting too technical or making assumptions. Take into consideration as many aspects and conditions as possible. Successful negotiations can be reached if both parties understand what is expected of the other.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Personal Branding Across Cultures
By Marcela Jenney-Reyes
How does personal branding “translate” around the globe in other cultures?

Building Your Cross Cultural Business Relationships Through Trust

There are many variables at play in determining the prosperity of a brand. A highly important aspect of business interaction is one’s strength in creating new business with potential suppliers and buyers. It has been noted that the most successful businesses are organized and methodical when it comes to business-to-business relationship building, as is evidenced by the existence of a huge market for PR professionals. One of the keys to maximizing profitability and success is the development and execution of strategies that ensure the acquisition of new clients.

The importance of building inter-business relationships is unquestionable. But how exactly does a brand go about this? A valuable factor in the marketing game is trust.

Before the trust factor. At the base of every business-to-business interaction is the raw need of a supplier or a buyer for the other. When a business goes out looking for another enterprise from which to buy, it must first calculate and compare the economic value of each of its choices. It is commonly thought that the obvious choice is the one that is the cheapest. But what happens in the case where the economic value of each choice appears to be identical? It is at this point where the importance of trust comes in. This intangible variable is one that, instead of being influenced by economical factors, is more social and subjective.

What trust is all about. Your business looks appealing to buyers who have faith in your brand. This trust is primarily comprised of a buyer’s confidence in your integrity and the reliability of your services. Simply put, if buyers regard your brand as one that is trustworthy, they have faith in your value.

How it’s created. This sense of trust comes when you take away the uncertainty that plays a major role in new business-to-business interaction. This, coupled with a strong, clearly defined list of expectations, is what will set you apart from other brands. While this may seem to be just another economic aspect in the marketing of your brand, these feelings of trust arise unconsciously in your buyer and have underlying emotional roots, making them a social aspect.

The role of culture. Doing business with other cultures in this globalized economy is unavoidable. Sometimes the cultural norms that guide business interaction between two distinct nations become complicated, thereby creating a difficult barrier to cross. The following guide can help ease those tensions and create that important T.R.U.S.T. bond:

• Tailor your communication style by adjusting it to the one of your target market.
• Respect cultural differences. Remember, your culture is no better or worse than others; it’s just different.
• Understand that trust is not built overnight. You need to be open and adapt your way of doing things in order to build cultural competency.
• Strengthen relationships by adjusting your behavior. Small changes on your part can go a long way towards building cross-cultural relationships.
• Take the time to learn what motivates people. Get to know their values and beliefs and make sure that you focus on what´s important to them. Find that “emotional connection.”

Finding balance. When marketing a brand, a common mistake is to focus too strongly on your economic value. What many do not recognize is that there is more to be desired in business interactions than the completion of a task. In interactions with a new buyer, the achievement of a high level of satisfaction can lead to a strong inter-business relationship. So, how does one market one’s self accordingly?

Your value goes beyond the numbers and prices and stretches into the sense of reliability and integrity that your brand gives off. When marketing your brand to potential new clients, it is important to balance both the economic and “social” values of your brand (while paying close attention to the culture of your targeted market), because one is nothing without the other.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Personal Branding Across Cultures
By Marcela Jenney-Reyes
How does personal branding “translate” around the globe in other cultures?

No such thing as a commodity. It’s all in your head!

The term commodity usually refers to “goods and other physical products that are supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market.” In a free market, more than one source for a commodity item can exist. Sometimes there are so many to choose from that, when shopping for one, we become overwhelmed. So what is it about certain commodities that draw our interest? Why do we choose what we choose?

The role of branding. Brands play a major role in differentiating one certain commodity from the rest. The most successful companies are those that not only mildly stimulate but also create unique interest in their products or services. These companies are the ones that develop and embody an image, one that makes their product different. This difference is what makes their product successfully alluring to customers. The distinction makes it not only memorable but also noticeably different from a mass of similar products.

Crossing cultures to achieve differentiation. A commodity that has been particularly effective in establishing its image is Colombian coffee. What exactly is so special about 100% Colombian coffee besides the supposed fact that it is of high quality and superior to most other coffees? With the help of its donkey-riding, sombrero-wearing symbolic coffee farmer, Juan Valdez, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia successfully created a distinction between Colombian coffee and coffee from other countries. Juan Valdez’s physical characteristics are a tribute to the culture of Colombian coffee farmers. Instead of trying to imitate its competitors, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia cleverly integrated its unique culture into its symbol, making it an internationally recognized icon. As a Colombian and coffee lover, it makes me proud that he represents my beloved country so well!

Your key to success. Instead of viewing your service or product as just another commodity in a sea of many in which price seems to be the only differentiator, create your brand’s special distinction and set yourself apart from the rest by incorporating the cultural traits that make you unique and distinctive. While you may offer services that parallel those of many others, what sets you apart is your brand—your image and your distinction.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.