May 27, 2008 at 7:57 am
All,
I am interacting with US client for the last 2 weeks. But i feel some hard to understand his slang.
But he is satisfied with my work,also i got the appreciation mail from my client.
But the problem is, on the weekly status call sometime i missed his points becuase of his slang, yes, i am unable to understand his slang sometime.
will he take it as normal ?
will he look my technical skill ? or will he look my communication skill ?
Inputs are welcome !
karthik
May 27, 2008 at 7:59 am
Really, i am very much disappointed ,because my manager abused me for this reason.
karthik
May 27, 2008 at 8:22 am
The key question would be, is he using slang or technical jargon? If he says that something is "cool" then he's using slang to imply that it's good or acceptable (unless he's referring to temperature) and it's not encumbent on you to understand his slang. If he uses an industry abbreviation or nickname or alternate name for a topic, then that might be up to you to figure out. One example that comes to mind is Profiler vs. Trace. In the old days of SQL Server, what is today called Profiler was called Trace. In fact the stored procedures used to access the process are still refer to trace. So, you might see something like that used where you expect Profiler. You may have to figure that out on your own.
However, communication is a two-way street. This other guy should be able to use standard English in his communications so that people using English as a second language could at least easily look up unknown words in a dictionary.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
May 27, 2008 at 9:21 am
I am unable to understand his slang ( whether it may be slang or technical jargon ).
What i am saying is, i can't understand his speech.
karthik
May 27, 2008 at 9:28 am
karthikeyan (5/27/2008)
I am unable to understand his slang ( whether it may be slang or technical jargon ).What i am saying is, i can't understand his speech.
There may be a cultural tug of war going on. In the US mindset it's going to be incumbent on you to extract what information you need. The client will have the expectation that you will point out what it is you don't understand: walking away from a conversation without at very least making clear to the client that you are not understanding would be a major failing they would hold against you.
Speak up. Ask questions. Interrupt if you have to - don't wait for 10 minutes to point out that you didn't catch something. But don't walk away from another conversation knowing you didn't understand something.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
May 27, 2008 at 9:30 am
Unfortunately, that can be a serious problem. I know we've passed up on bringing in consultants because their English was so bad that we couldn't understand them.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
May 27, 2008 at 12:50 pm
You do have to ask questions and get clarification, but I agree with Grant. If it happens too much, then they'll likely look elsewhere. Being able to communicate with the client is important, and that means you need to know the client's language.
I'm sure I'd be very, very unemployable outside the US.
May 27, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Communication is two way. If you don't understand your client, does your client understand you?
How do you know if your client is satisfied with your work, if your client is satisfied with your work, how come you boss is upset ?
May 27, 2008 at 4:35 pm
It's like your email. You say you don't understand the client's slang, but you don't give us any examples so that we can understand what you are having problems with - it is slang or technical terms?
You also don't say whether you brought this up to the client or not. Did you ever say to them - "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by ....". Or "could you explain what you meant by ....".
-SQLBill
May 27, 2008 at 8:14 pm
karthikeyan (5/27/2008)
I am unable to understand his slang ( whether it may be slang or technical jargon ).What i am saying is, i can't understand his speech.
Hmm, this makes it sound like it could be his accent, which is how he pronounces words and sentences. Is that it?
[font="Times New Roman"]-- RBarryYoung[/font], [font="Times New Roman"] (302)375-0451[/font] blog: MovingSQL.com, Twitter: @RBarryYoung[font="Arial Black"]
Proactive Performance Solutions, Inc. [/font][font="Verdana"] "Performance is our middle name."[/font]
May 27, 2008 at 9:21 pm
It could be something as simple as a really lousy conference phone.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 28, 2008 at 3:42 am
My problem is ,
I am unable to undertand how he pronounces words and sentences, but not the entire conversation, only some words , if i miss that words i am unable to understand what he is talking.
I mean, i feel very tough to understand some silent words and sentences( whether it may be technical terms or slang )
Communication is two way. If you don't understand your client, does your client understand you?
How do you know if your client is satisfied with your work, if your client is satisfied with your work, how come you boss is upset ?
Yes,He understood me and my technical level. so he is very happy with my technical level.
But my Boss is expecting good interaction with the client. So that way i failed to satisfy my boss.
I agree i don't have that much of communication skill, but i want to improve. Because i don't want to fail because of my less communication skill.
My direct question is,
How to understand US or UK accent easily ?
what are all the things i have to do to overcome this communication problem ?
Inputs and advices are welcome !
karthik
May 28, 2008 at 4:44 am
karthikeyan (5/28/2008)
How to understand US or UK accent easily ?
You'll get used to it in time. There's no quick solution. For now, it's up to you to make sure you understand. If you can't make out what he's saying, ask him to repeat it. Explain (politely) that his accent is hard to understand.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
May 28, 2008 at 5:24 am
Native speakers of any language talk much faster than non-native speakers. Ask him to slow down a bit too. That usually helps.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
May 28, 2008 at 6:16 am
karthikeyan (5/28/2008)
How to understand US or UK accent easily ?
I would start with TV re-runs. You can download a lot of them from the internet, if they do not play them on the air where you live.
These are only a start, as TV actors have very clear and distinct voices and minimal accents, but it is a good place to start.
[font="Times New Roman"]-- RBarryYoung[/font], [font="Times New Roman"] (302)375-0451[/font] blog: MovingSQL.com, Twitter: @RBarryYoung[font="Arial Black"]
Proactive Performance Solutions, Inc. [/font][font="Verdana"] "Performance is our middle name."[/font]
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