Watch your Language!

I guess I knew this all along, but, it caught me off guard none the less. 

Outside the US, language education is started very early and English is often a requirement.  I teach a graduate level class in Supply Chain Management at Stony Brook University and many of my students are Asian. They speak English quite fluently and understand my lectures (in spite of my NY Accent).  That contrasts sharply, with my own language skills.  My high school French leaves me woefully unprepared to converse in anything other than my native tongue. 

In business, English is understood and spoken by virtually everyone.  My lack of skills has not prevented me from working closely with business people throughout Europe and Asia.

I have been privileged to receive referrals to my business from the French American Chamber of Commerce (FACC).  This group is dedicated to helping French businesses get started or expand in the US.  The referrals are always virtual in nature (via email) and initial communications are as well.

Once some initial discussion has set the expectations, I have scheduled a phone call.  Due to the constraints imposed by the distance between us, the calls are scheduled for the morning here which corresponds to the late afternoon in France.

On Morning last week, at the appointed time, I called my contact at an apparel company in Paris to follow up on the emails we had been exchanging.   When I got connected, Aubin’s first question to me was whether I spoke French.  My response “un peu” (a little) prompted him to suggest that we wait until this week when his translator would be available.  He was communicating quite well in English, so I suggested that we try to continue.  Aubin took this to mean that I thought we could proceed in French and began speaking much more rapidly than I had any chance to process. 

Fortunately, with my limited vocabulary and words that were similar in both languages (“logistics” = “logistique”), I was able to get some inkling about what he was talking about.  We agreed to a follow up conversation and I enlisted a neighbor who is fluent in French to act as my translator.

The lesson I learned reminds me of the Boy Scout motto… “Be Prepared”.  Even though under most circumstances a working knowledge of English will suffice, it is important to have a plan B if it doesn’t.