每次與非英語系國籍的人討論到「需要何種英文程度才能做國際生意？」，大部分的人會提到，最基本的門檻就是具備一個國際語言證書，像托福、雅思(TOFEL/IELTS)或去國外念書。這樣的想法我可以體會，畢竟語言檢定考試提供一個公正的標準來審核和衡量一個人的語言能力。身為學習日文跟德文多年的我，為了了解自己的語言能力、判斷自己到底有沒有能力在別的國家生活或工作，也考過跟相關的語言測驗。
然而，大家都知道理論跟實務其實差異很大。一般亞洲國家的人，英語閱讀理解和聽力比較好，口說能力則比較差，因為在日常生活中不需要跟外國人溝通。然而，當我們去跟外國人做生意時，英語的口語溝通能力變得相當重要，這跟亞洲學校語言學習的模式是顛倒的。可是，如果你這輩子從來沒有出過國或住過英文系國家，出國做生意到底英文能力要多好呢？總是要有個程度的門檻吧? 答案當然是英文程度越高越好。但是，英文程度雖然非常重要、卻不代表全部。與其用一個「標準答案」來看這個問題，我們不如用另外一個角度來討論。
你對你自己的英文能力有自信嗎？
所謂的自信就是要「敢」，敢講、敢讀寫。即便你知道自己的英文不夠流利完美，依然願意上所謂的「戰場」去面對客戶。通常每個人對自己英語的聽、說、讀，寫有不同程度的信心，在我認識的人裡，大部分的人對英語讀寫會比較有自信，因為和打電話或面對面直接溝通需要「立即回應」的方式相比，寫報告或者是寫 E-mail ，可以有充足的時間去思考並修改內容。至於「趕講」，是指當你開口時，如果你可以散發出一種自信，這種自信會讓人忽略你的英文程度，而去在意你的內容。當然前提是你一定要表達清楚，讓聽眾能很快了解你想要說明什麼，即使有文法錯誤或發音不標準也沒關係。
有一年，我在米蘭參加一個國際會議，主辦單位邀請了不同國籍的代表演講。其中一位來自南韓的小姐，當她發表演說時，我很驚訝她只是低頭念講稿，而台下沒人知道她說了什麼。雖然她很努力唸稿子，可惜不但發音不清楚，還很難聽得懂她表達的內容，更糟的是，也不抬頭看觀眾和大家視線交流，她的演說無論聽起來跟看起來都很沒自信。後來，也完全聽不懂觀眾的問題更無法回答，只能愣在那、傻笑、鞠躬、然後快速下台。雖然我覺得她很有勇氣上台，但感覺出觀眾是失望的而且氣氛變得有點乏味。會後，相信很多人會對這位小姐留下不好的印象並覺得主辦單位不夠專業。
會議的目的還有你在會議中的跟角色是什麼?
在歐洲公司裡，我其中一個工作任務，就是專門幫助日本總公司的同事來歐洲開會。這些年來，我幫過很多日本同事，也領教過各式各樣的英文程度。這也讓我領悟到，其實語言能力跟會議的內容和目的有絕對的相關性。例如，一個業務發展經理（ＢＤＭ）會需要比較高的英文溝通能力，尤其是當他的任務就是要開啟歐洲市場，然後跟歐洲客戶直接溝通價錢，還有了解客戶需求。另一方面，有次我帶一位資深工程師去跟客戶開會，雖然工程師的英文程度跟ＢＤＭ比較起來非常低 (他不但無法講完一個完整的英文句子，而且回話也回得非常慢)，但他在專業領域裡是一個專家，會議中他自信的運用專有名詞、圖案、繪圖將他的想法表達解釋得很清楚，也如期開了一個很成功的會。
你了解跟你開會的對象嗎？
想一想，你要跟誰開會?是C-Level老闆級的嗎？是跟你類似階級嗎？你們的關係好嗎？是什麼樣的產業?公司文化呢?是氣氛嚴謹還是輕鬆? 畢竟有一些產業非常重視階級，例如，德國還有法國公司重視階級，但英國公司反而沒有那麼高的要求。一個新創科技公司的CEO跟一個百年石油和天然氣業企業的CEO對階級的重視程度也不同。一般來說，傳統企業階級分明又正經嚴謹，而在新創公司則相反，即使跟CEO開會，也會感覺氣氛相對輕鬆。我建議，在開會前多多了解你開會的對象。
英文是你客戶或廠商的母語嗎？
雖然我們不能一竿子打番一船人，不過一般英語系國家的人在學習第二個語言都比非英語系國家來得弱。像英國跟它的鄰居法國、德國、荷蘭相比的話是如此。國際商業使用的語言基本上都是英文，這也讓講英文的人有語言優勢。可是這個優勢也造成一種現象：母語為英文的人比較不懂得去同理非英語系國家的人的難處，也常常忘記他們講話的速度還有用詞不一定那麼容易理解(當然有部份的人例外)。在英語系國家中又有區別，我個人覺得英國人會比澳洲人在溝通上更有耐心，這可能跟他的國家地理位置還有歷史有關係，畢竟英國位於歐洲，也跟歐盟國家有非常緊密的關係。比較起來，如果你今天跟義大利人或者是法國人開會的話，你會覺得兩邊談判的起點比較對等，他們溝通也比較有耐心，畢竟英文都不是大家的母語。我有聽說，對英文較沒自信的人，覺得跟非英語系國家的人開會感覺比較舒服；最怕跟英語系國家且口音重的人，例如蘇格蘭或愛爾蘭人開會。
最後感想
到底「英語程度需要多好」是很難清楚的定義，還是要視情況跟對方的需求來判斷，只有你最了解自己的英語程度還有你公司業務的需求。只要記得，出國做生意跟去考英語檢定測驗是兩回事！
English Version
Doing international business? How good should my English level be?
Often when I speak to non-native English speakers about English requirements for doing international business, I have noticed that almost everyone would mention that they must achieve a certain level of English proficiency through certifications like TOEFL, IELTS tests or go to the country and study English. Having learnt Japanese and German for many years, I can absolutely relate to the reasoning behind this answer.
Certifications offer a “standardised” way to help us understand our level of language proficiency. However, in reality, as many of you will know, theory verses practice are two very different things. For many people reading comprehension and listening comes more easily than speaking. This is fairly normal because in our daily life, there is generally not a need to converse outside our mother tongue unless you live in that country. However, when doing international business, the ability to converse and articulate in English plays a bigger role.
This goes back to the fundamental question, if you are someone who had never lived in an English speaking country and you don’t use it everyday, then, “How good does my English really need to be?”. Of course, the higher your proficiency is, the better it is but in reality, the answer is not so straight forward. Instead, I would like to challenge you to think differently about it.
Do you feel confident?
Let us start from the basic. Are you confident to give it a shot and communicate in English even knowing that your proficiency may not be perfect? Everyone feels confident at different proficiency levels but most people I have met tends to feel more confident in reading, writing an email or a presentation rather than speaking. This is because direct interaction (e.g. telephone calls, face-to-face meetings) requires an instantaneous response while you can take the time to read and compose an email or presentation. When it comes to speaking, my general opinion is that you don't need to be amazingly fluent and it is ok if you make grammatical mistakes or need more time to respond but you must be able to demonstrate confidence when you choose to speak. Your confidence makes people care more about the content rather than your proficiency. Of course, this is assuming that you are able to speak with enough clarity so people can understand what you are trying to convey.
Once I was at an international transportation conference in Milan where the organiser invited presenters from across the world to share their situation. However, to my shock, one lady from South Korea made a presentation where she read off a piece of paper but no one could understand what she had said. Not only did she not look or sound confident when speaking but when people asked questions, she couldn’t even understand them. She stood there, looked confused, smiled, then ran off stage. I gave her ‘brownie points’ for her courage but at the same time it was frustrating for the audience. As a consequence, she made a negative impression for herself and made the organiser looked unprofessional.
Depending on the type of role and purpose of meeting
Here in Europe, one of my responsibility is to support my Japanese colleagues in a business setting. Over the years, I have worked with many Japanese colleagues with a wide range of English proficiency levels. Over time, I have noticed that the proficiency requirement is correlated to the context of the meeting. For example, for a Japanese Business Development manager (BDM) whose role is to sell the technologies from Japan into the overseas market and to identify potential sales opportunities. He needed a strong English capability to help him build relationships, gather customer requirements and negotiate pricings in meetings. On the other hand, I have also worked with a Japanese engineer whose English proficiency was lower in comparison to the BDM but an expert in his field. As the engineer had little exposure to speaking in English, his responses were slower and sentences had a poor fluidity. Nonetheless, he was still able to communicate clearly using industry jargons, graphs and drawings to clarify his points. We had a very successful meeting with great outcomes.
Know your audience
Think...who are you meeting? Is it C-level? or similar level? What’s the relationship? What is the type of industry or company culture? Is the industry expected to be more formal or relaxed? For example, the French and German follow a hierarchy while the English are more relaxed about it. While the Start-up and Technology sectors are less hierarchical compared to traditional industries like oil and gas or finance. Depending on some of these factors, the way you engage may differ. Typically, in more traditional companies it is more hierarchical and formal, while in a start-up, you can meet the CEO and still feel relaxed. It is recommended to try to understand more about who you will be meeting ahead of your meeting.
Is English your customer/partner’s mother-tongue?
I may be generalising a little here, it is not a secret that English speaking countries tend to be far less competent at picking up a second languages. If we compare the British to their neighbours, it is generally other people who adapt to the British and not the other way around. With English being also the international language of business, English speakers are less aware and sometimes less forgiving about other people’s capability in English (Although it really depends on the individual as well). I also find that the British are far more compassionate to non-English background speakers compared to the Australians. This is probably due to the geographic location and history with their neighbouring countries.
While in comparison, if you were doing business with the Italian or the French, as English is also not their native language, the level playing field feels more equal. Non-native English speakers tend to be more forgiving when it comes to grammatical mistakes, they have more patience and speak more slowly and clearly when it comes to communicating. I have heard that people with less English speaking confidence prefers to interact with non-English speakers and are more afraid of English speakers with heavier accents such as the Irish or Walsh.
Final Thought
There isn’t a really clear-cut definition of ‘how good’ your English need to be because often you will need to make the judgment based on the situation and on what you think that the other person is willing to adopt too? Each situation is unique and different and, at the end of the day, remember that it is business and not a language proficiency examination!
