Presenting Bad News in Other Cultures

Presenting bad news is common in the world of business and has been the case for years.  Obviously we as Canadians have a way of conducting bad news which we feel is right, but in reality if we were to present it the same way in China, well let's just say it wouldn't go as smoothly.  These are some examples on how bad news is conducted:

• In North America, we prefer to minimize disappointment by presenting negative messages indirectly. Other cultures treat bad news differently.
• In Germany, business communicators tend to use buffers, but do present bad news directly.
• British writers also tend to be straightforward when they present bad news, as they see there is no reason to soften its announcement. Both Germany and Great Britain are considered to be low-context nations.
• In Latin nations they usually don't ask the question of how to organize negative messages but whether or not to present them at all.  It is considered to be impolite and disrespectful to report bad news to superiors.
• Asian cultures promote peace and harmony throughout all relationships.  Disrupting this harmony is best to be avoided.  
• In Thailand the negativism represented by a refusal is completely unheard of; the word no doesn't exist. Subtle meanings must be interpreted carefully.

Challenges in Presenting Bad News.

Conveying bad news in some cultures is so subtle that literal-minded North Americans may misunderstand.  Communicating bad news in other cultures may require different strategies and techniques.  There are many challenges in presenting bad news in other cultures:

• It could be tricky and requires sensitivity to and awareness of cultural practices. 
• Always keeping in mind which context you are going to be dealing with whether it be high or low and the overall tone of how the message is going to be delivered.
• Most of the time, the way you view something as right in your culture, may not always be the right thing to do in other cultures

This link provides step-by-step advice on how to counter these challenges and how to present bad news properly. http://www.slideshare.net/sidsutton/10-key-points-for-delivering-bad-news

Refusal/Negative Letters

In many high-context cultures, saving face is important. A refusal is a potential loss of face for both parties. Basically what loss of face is referring to is the dignity or prestige that one person has for the other. To save face, a person who has to refuse an invitation to dine out with a business associate might say, "You must be very tired and want to have a quiet evening."  This subtle refusal avoids putting it in words.

To understand what is actually being communicated, we have to look beyond the individual's actual words and look at how it's being communicated, the culture and most importantly the context.

A recent study has shown business letters portrayed with bad news in Latin America were actually quite short and didn't have buffers.  Usually business letters that have bad news in it get straight to the point and are concise as can be. One of the big mistakes that people do is prolong the problem which could make a business associate very uncomfortable.

Techniques to Presenting Bad News

There are numerous way to give bad news to a superior directly and indirectly:

• In Germany, a low-context nation, they tend to use buffer. 
• In Japan, a high-context country, they try to prevent discord by using a number of techniques to indicate no without being forced to say it. In a conversation they may respond with silence or a counter-question, such as, "Why do you ask?". To save face for themselves and the person asking the question they may just change the subject or tell a white lie.
• Sometimes for the Japanese the answer sounds like a yes, "I will do my best, but if I cannot, I hope you will understand."
• If the response is "Yes, but..." or Yes followed by an apology, you should be aware that all of these responses tend to mean No.

 In China, Westerners have a hard time understanding the "hints" given to them by communicators:

What They Say:                                  What They Could Mean:

• I agree                                      I agree with 15 percent of what you say.
• We might be able to                  Not a chance.
• We will consider                     WE will, but the real decision maker will not.
• That is a little too much              That is outrageous.

The Following Video includes some mistakes that CEO's make when presenting bad news to their employees.