A “poker face” is of great use in Japan. The Japanese dislike strong public displays of emotion. If you show shock or anger during business negotiations, they will believe that you lack self-control and are questionable as a business partner.
The Japanese negotiate in groups, usually in a team containing executives of different age
ranges. Your team should have at least one senior member, and everyone must be sure to treat him with deference.The younger members of your team should generally remain quiet and defer to their seniors during the meetings. Their real job will be to go out drinking with the Japanese team’s young executives at night. The Japanese like to convey important information (e.g., “Our boss was very angry at your offer today”) via junior executives.
It is useful to get Japanese executives away from their home base. In Japan, they can wait you out, hoping that you will agree to a disadvantageous deal because you are anxious to go home. The Japanese often agree to hold negotiations at a midway point. For example, when negotiating with North Americans, the Japanese often agree to hold meetings in Hawaii.
Hard-sell techniques will fail in Japan. Instead, find the points on which you and your Japanese counterparts agree, then build upon those. A positive, persuasive presentation works better with the Japanese than does a high-pressure, confrontational approach.
The Japanese may ask international visitors many questions— including information about
your job, your title, your age, your responsibilities, the number of employees that report to you, etc. Japanese is a complex language with many forms of address and honorifics. They need a lot of information in order to decide which form to use when speaking to you. (Most of this subtlety will be lost when translated into English, but it is important to the Japanese.)Have you had any experiences of meeting Japanese people? DOes any of the advice above apply to everyday interaction with them?
COMMENTS below.
x
No comments:
Post a Comment