Learn Mandarin Chinese to gain an enormous advantage when doing business in China. So says, Leigh Hafrey, a senior lecturer in communications and ethics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management on Bloomberg.com.
“Speaking the language confers a huge advantage for anyone who wants to do business in a non-English-speaking country,” he said. “It gives you flexibility, knowledge that you need, and personal connections that can make a difference in the speed and effectiveness of your negotiations.”
One third of the world speaks Mandarin including 1.3 billion in China, which is one of the faster growing economies in the world. The last thing you want to do is accidentally insult or embarrass your business partner during a contract negotiation in China. Learning the language and more about the culture will enable you to develop personal connections quickly and easily.
Why You and Your Staff Should Learn Mandarin
- It will help land sales and grow your business
- You can avoid accidental insults at crucial moments
- You will all feel more at ease traveling around Beijing
- Your staff can negotiate sales and contracts faster
- You and your staff can build stronger relationships in China
Learn Mandarin Chinese at Your Office in the Denver Metro Area
You and your staff can:
- Learn quickly with an experienced native speaker instructor.
- Study efficiently with our flashcards with mp3 support
- Master the accent and tones with worksheets and mp3 support
- Stay motivated with brief, daily review emails
I found very quickly that, even with the most rudimentary Mandarin skills, my understanding of culture, custom and conversation, and my relationships with friends and partners in China improved exponentially. Further, people very much appreciated my feeble efforts and were delighted to help me progress. So much of business in Asia is conducted socially or informally, and these settings are rich in opportunities to learn and to build bridges of trust and familiarity.
Geoff O’Keeffe, Vice-President, Global Sourcing, American Recreation Products, Boulder, Colorado, USA