Once upon a time there was a Baby Mouse and Mother Mouse. They lived in a hole in the skirting board in a big, warm house with lots of cheese to eat, where they wanted for nothing. Then, one day, Mother Mouse decided to take Baby Mouse outside of their home. Waiting outside for them was a huge ginger tomcat, licking it’s lips and waiting to eat them both up. “Mother, Mother! What should we do?” Cried Baby Mouse, clinging to his mother’s tail. Mother Mouse paused, staring up into the beady eyes of the hungry cat. But she wasn't scared, because she knew exactly how to deal with big, scary cats. She opened her mouth and took in a deep breath. “Woof! Woof! Bark bark bark!” She shouted, and the cat ran away as fast as he could. “Wow, Mother! That was amazing!” Baby Mouse said to his mother, smiling happily. “And that, my child, is why it is always best to have a second language.”
In the above case, knowing the second language was a life saver and fortunately for us we do not necessarily encounter above situations in our daily life. But having said that, we do however encounter situations where we work with teams and client stakeholders, who come from different walks of life and background. We cannot possibly learn all languages but we can certainly make an effort to understand the culture to appreciate how an information is perceived. Nelson Mandela famously said
❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
So whether you are talking with a team member or a client stakeholder, its important to understand their language and make an honest effort to learn if you want to win them over.
Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. ‒Rita Mae Brown
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