Do you Know Your Holidays?

More ways I can help you… (part 3)

The holiday season is upon us, but whose holidays? And how will they affect your business?

We all know the holidays we were brought up with, and how they are celebrated. But our businesses are becoming more and more globalized, and we are in contact with people from other traditions.

For example, in a recent Master Class on LinkedIn, the native speakers of English came from the US, Canada, the UK, South Africa, Australia, India … and there were anglophones from countries I didn’t even find out about during the class!

Which means you have a very real possibility of dealing with people from cultures you know nothing about. So it would be a good idea if you knew how business cycles work over the holidays in the countries you deal with.

Here is where I can help.

People don’t celebrate the same

Beyond having studied the language, literature, and culture of the countries that speak my working languages, I understand the national mood as well.

For example, if you want construction done in Belgium, nothing will happen during the “construction holidays” in July - while the rest of the country takes their business holidays in August.

The end of the year holidays are even more complex. We aren’t only talking about when decorations go up - which can be a vexing issue in the US, where Christmas decorations have been seen as early as just after Halloween…

In the US, we can see Happy Holidays greetings, which cover a multitude of days, such as Christmas, New Year, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa. But there are people who object to that way of greeting, as they would prefer to receive greetings specific to their holiday.

And even in English, in the US we say “Merry Christmas” and in the UK it’s “Happy Christmas.” Admittedly, this is only a small change, but it feels very large when one is away from home!

Other countries, other days

Once you leave the anglophone world, there are other customs that you should know about, as they will seriously impact your own business plans.

In Northern Europe, children get presents on Saint Nicholas, December 6th - Christmas is secondary for gift giving for children. Sinterklaas visits the Dutch-speaking world from mid-November, but gives the presents only on December 5th, while in Belgium and France we only see the celebration on the day.

So if you are in a business connected with children, this can change your business season.

French-speaking countries call Christmas Eve “réveillon” - but the same word can also be used for New Year’s Eve as well (which is also called la Saint Sylvestre). And the Christmas meal in many countries is traditionally served on the 24th, and not on Christmas day - which lengthens the holiday that those businesses will take by a day.

But the prize for the largest disruption to any business cycle goes to Russia - where they celebrate both the new and the old holidays.

Different calendars

When the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, many countries stayed with the Julian calendar for years afterwards. And while Russia did switch to match the rest of the world in 1918, the Russian Orthodox calendar is still based on the Julian calendar, which is 13 days later.

This means that in Russia, you are likely to be wished Merry Christmas and Happy New Year on December 25 and January 1 by those who follow Western traditions, and on January 7 and 14 for those following Russian Orthodox traditions.

Which also means that you should not expect any business to take place from about December 20th until after January 15th.

Build your relationships!

Whatever holidays you celebrate, your business partners would appreciate a nod to those that they celebrate as well. It’s an easy way for you to build your relationships for the future!

And so, I’d like to raise a glass, and wish you all Happy Holidays at the end of this long and interesting year!

Happy Hannukah! 🕎

Happy Saint Nicholas! 🎅

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 🎄

Happy Kwanzaa! 🕯️

Merry Old Christmas and Happy Old New Year! 🎄

If you liked this article, please connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliapoger/ - and we can continue the conversation!

Do you want to come across as a better speaker?

More ways I can help you… #2

Anyone who is an expert in their field can get so caught up in everything they know, and their familiar jargon, that they can forget about their audience.

Or else they think too much about their audience and get tongue-tied, like a deer in the headlights, standing in front of 10 people - or 1000.

Training

Most speakers haven’t been trained. They are just expected to get up in front of an audience and get their point across. But they don’t know what to do - should they read? Should they not read? Do they have to tell a joke? There is so much conflicting advice out there!

When I trained to become an interpreter, one of my first classes was public speaking. I was expected to perform at a podium every day. It all serves me well whenever I work on stage in front of an audience - especially when I have to run up on stage to that podium as a last minute replacement interpreter (I almost lost my shoes I was going so fast…)!

I was also trained to analyze what people say, to pick out the goal and context of the message, and to find the story behind the words, so I could then transmit that to the foreign-language-speaking audience in a way that they could best understand.

That training helped me recognize good speakers, and how to help those who aren’t as prepared to look better.

Steps you can take to help you be a better speaker

The best way to help you get your message across, in any language, is for me to spend some time with you before your speech. Together, we could refine your goal and how you move towards it. You would understand that certain jokes don’t translate easily and might need some extra knowledge, and how to better connect with your audience.

For example, a Russian minister went through his speech with me the day before he gave it to a packed house. I became more familiar with his goals, and he understood more about the local situation. During his speech, he paused for a laugh 7 times - some based solely on local considerations that he had never heard about before - and he received one each time. (That was one of my proudest moments…)

If you are being interpreted, another way of ensuring you get your message across would be to give the text of the speech to me ahead of time. After all, if you have spent hours crafting beautiful sentences to deliver your important ideas, you should want to give me the time to make sure that I can deliver those same ideas with just as much impact in the other language.

A third way to help has to do with presentation. There are times to be formal, times to be informal, and times for jokes. We can prepare and practice, so that you will know which is which, and how to match your audience’s expectations.

Another presentation issue could also be something you never suspected - how do you sound to your audience? Will they hear your voice and instantly trust you - or tune out immediately?

In one instance, the sound equipment in the auditorium gave one speaker a very high-pitched voice, which made the audience uncomfortable and tune out. I suggested settings to the sound people for that speaker’s second talk, which allowed them to have a much better reception and warmer applause. The speaker was delighted.

Most importantly

But one of my most important functions is to let you know that you are not alone. You may be standing in front of 1000 people - but so am I, right next to you! No matter what you say or how you say it, I will say it in a way that will be perfect for your audience, and you will look good.

So with all of these steps, you can relax and stop thinking about the 1000 people, but only about your message.

If you liked this article, please connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliapoger/ - and we can continue the conversation!