英語島雜誌

Operating in low context culture
華人如何與英美人士有效溝通？

屬於高語境的中文，訊息大部分被賦予在語境之中或內化在人的本身，不太依賴文字的說明，不必完整表達自己的觀點，就能讓對方聽見話中話，聽者也會根據現場的情況和語言解碼訊息。而屬於低語境的英文著重語言表達的邏輯性，對語境的依賴度低，表達直接不拐彎抹角，比起華人更重視白紙黑字。要如何有效與他們溝通，要溝通什麼，現在就來解碼這些文化差異。

如何不失禮地詢問外籍同事的想法

表達模糊: Let’s get tea.

表達完整: Let’s get tea, I’m curious to hear some of your thoughts on the new project.

沒頭沒尾: Do you have time to talk tomorrow?

>>如果突然只問這句，會讓人家覺得是不是他做錯了什麼，要挨罵了

陳述原因: Could we briefly meet tomorrow? There’s a small problem with one of your cases but it’s nothing to worry about.

邀請外籍同事參與下班後的活動

請不要勉強對方參加，低語境文化比較重視公私領域分明，他們不會把私下的聚會當做是上班的延續。

以為對方樂意: We are getting dinner together after work.

事先客氣詢問: After working late, most of us usually get dinner together, it’s usually a lot of fun. Would you like to join?

怎麼邀約國外來訪客戶晚餐？

通常出差的人，都會希望能有自己私人的時間，低語境文化著重公私平衡，別不小心強迫客人參加了。

以為對方樂意: We’ve scheduled a tour of the Palace Museum for you in the afternoon, and then we will eat dinner.

事先客氣詢問: We’ve scheduled a tour of the Palace Museum for you in the afternoon, and we were planning on eating dinner together, but I understand if you are still tired from jetlag. What do you feel like doing?