Blogs and Articles from Third Way Forum Membrs

・　It is often observed by foreigners that the Japanese people are usually better in written communications than verbal communications in English and their written English explains things well in detail. On the flip side, it seems many Japanese people spend too much time in writing in English, trying to write perfectly. Most foreigners prefer quicker correspondence rather than receiving a perfectly written email. Speed is an issue.

・　For the purpose of documentation, accuracy and respectfulness, it is appropriate and understandable that some written communications need to be pretty long. However, sometimes due to the lack of confidence in English skills, some Japanese try to explain everything via email even on those things which are probably much easier and better to be discussed on the phone or face to face. Hesitation from and avoidance of having a discussion in English makes many Japanese tend to write many long emails which is not an effective way of communication.

・　Having said that, however, different people have different preferences of communication methods based on their sense of psychological safety. When some people prefer sending short texts to picking up a phone, leaders should be able to accommodate their needs as well. The effective communication method is not necessarily the same for everyone. The most effective communication method for you depends on the pur and on what your audience thinks most effective for them to digest your message. So leaders need to adapt and adjust their communication methods accordingly. Also leaders should provide education and training on communication methods which are weak in usage but essential for the business. For example, if different global development teams have to collaborate, people should be able to pick up the phone for quick alignments on one hand and to be able to share work packages simultaneously.

・　In old days, leaders could just communicate their words of wisdom and it was the job of the subordinates to understand the message. But today it is the job of leaders to make themselves understood by their subordinates. Some people feel a sense of achievement by sending out a lot of messages but it is an useless sense of achievement. The communication mindset must change. Leader’s communication is not complete until the audience is moved enough to take the needed actions.

・　In the U.S., people are encouraged to develop the ability to summarize the content and explain the key points in a simple and effective manner. In Japan, it seems the emphasis is on something else. Judging from the communication styles of many Japanese, it looks like the Japanese emphasize to explain the context itself accurately and respectfully. Maybe the lengthy written communication of the Japanese people is attributed to that.

・　As long as the issue is just a long written communication due to context explanation and respectfulness which the Japanese tend to emphasize, it is still manageable. However, we observe there is another more serous issue that makes the communications of the Japanese rather problematic. That is that some Japanese people want to avoid to put anybody on a tough spot so much that they do not get to the point. They do not even want to get to the point. In Japanese there is an expression “make a muddy tea” meaning you dodge the issue/avoid the main issue. This also originates from the fact that often people do not want to take the responsibility for a clear message.

・　On top of that, there are still many Japanese who think “directness is rude”. So in order to avoid stepping on a wrong person’s toe, you need to do a lot of trust building exercise until you reach the point where they do not mind your directness.

・　Whether it’s written or verbal, the Japanese communications are still challenging in terms of catching up with the speed of business in today’s VUCA world. The Japanese have a traditional poem called Haiku. A very short form of poem which explains so much by providing an visual image with such a short text. Maybe the Japanese people could apply some Haiku skills into their business communications in order to be short and effective yet appropriately Japanese. Originally speaking, Kanji(Chinese letters) and Emoji were also quick visual letters. There must be a way for the Japanese to make their written communications shorter, more visual and more get to the point. If they want to get to the point…