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 So many German people speak English to such a high standard that business and professional visitors to Germany wonder whether they really need to speak German at all.
You should always be able to get by speaking English; but if you want to build a better rapport with German colleagues, there is no better way than to speak their language.
Our training courses will give you the skills to travel with confidence, understand more what is going on around you and build stronger relationships with your business colleagues. |
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See cultural comparisons filmclip
German people have a reputation for directness. They have a word for yes, ja, and no, nein. The English on the other hand have a word for yes ‘yes’ while their no is often ‘yes but’. A British negative is almost always detectable in their body language, but less so in their actual words : ’Oh yes, I do like it, but …’
A German will more than likely say: ‘No, I do not like it.’ Some British find that a bit abrupt, but then Germans are equally perplexed by British people failing to get to the point. They simply do not share the British habit of calling a spade an instrument with a metal plate and T-shaped wooden handle used for digging. Even the niceties are dispensed with. Begin a meeting with a reference to the weather—absolutely standard in the UK—and your German colleague may wonder if he’s talking to a meteorologist. |
