Imagine getting into a team meeting, and you’re about to deliver bad news to your team, and they expect it. The atmosphere is so crisp. You start by greeting your African colleague by saying “Bawoni?” (how are you in Yoruba), and you greet your Chinese colleague saying “Nǐ hǎo“.
How would this meeting end up in your opinion? No matter how bad the news you had to deliver, this will remain a powerful meeting. Just greeting colleagues in their native languages would have released the tickness in the air.
This is the power of learning foreign languages, even just a bit.
As businesses become more global, the importance of cross-cultural communication cannot be overstated. However, navigating cultural differences is a challenge, especially when it comes to languages, signs and customs. The majority of unconscious biases and micro-aggressions come from the inability to understand and communicate in different cultures. Even the slightest differences in language use can correspond with biased beliefs of the speakers, according to research.
That’s where our African language learning platform comes in.
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming webinar exclusively for HR and executive management professionals in the UK. As hiring/retention rates of black colleagues in multiple organizations remain low, you will learn what you can do, in order to foster higher inclusivity in your teams, or learn as a leader how you can be a bridge/connector between team members.
This webinar is designed to be engaging and interactive, featuring group exercises, live demonstrations, and a Q&A session. You’ll also have the opportunity to network with other HR and executive management professionals who share your same issues as you of cross-cultural communication.
Don’t miss out on this exclusive free opportunity. Register now by providing your name and email, and we’ll send you all the private meeting details to join the webinar.”
If you and your teams make the effort to learn bits of foreign languages of your diverse employees, rather than expecting everyone to accommodate to your monolingualism, your team would quickly become a rare breed at your company and in your industry. Make sure to sign up now.