{"id":16099,"date":"2013-07-01T08:25:02","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T06:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/communication-the-ultimate-challenge-what-you-should-keep-in-mind-when-communicating-with-russian-counterparts\/"},"modified":"2013-07-01T08:25:02","modified_gmt":"2013-07-01T06:25:02","slug":"communication-the-ultimate-challenge-what-you-should-keep-in-mind-when-communicating-with-russian-counterparts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/communication-the-ultimate-challenge-what-you-should-keep-in-mind-when-communicating-with-russian-counterparts\/","title":{"rendered":"Communication: The Ultimate Challenge\u2014What You Should Keep in Mind When Communicating with Russian Counterparts."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A guest article by Nathalie Wenzel, REC Russia Experten Consulting GmbH, Ulm<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you attend a trade show in Russia, make some initial contacts, and bring back many business cards from potential Russian prospects to Germany? You\u2019ve taken the first step. So now\u2014what\u2019s next? <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Attention: English<\/strong><\/p>\n

At trade shows, the language of communication is usually English. To ensure that communication flows smoothly, interpreters are hired in Russia specifically for these events, and they pose as company employees. These interpreters are no longer available to you after the trade show; consequently, the proportion of English-speaking employees is lower. The further east you travel in Russia, the more pronounced this language barrier becomes. Anyone communicating in English or German should therefore be aware that their documents will be translated. This is often done by, for example, graduates of teacher training colleges who are entering the private sector due to low teacher salaries and a lack of teaching positions. There are many good language mediators, but you should still make sure you know who is translating your letters, emails, and ideas\u2014because in international communication, the competence of interpreters plays a central role: lack of subject-matter expertise, a lack of familiarity with your topic, and room for interpretation can become problems; misunderstandings cannot be ruled out. <\/p>\n

Direct is better<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Russians say, \u201cIf you want a new project to fail, send an email or call the person involved.\u201d What does that mean? Russian business partners clearly prefer direct, face-to-face contact. In some situations, you can save yourself a lot of paperwork and effort by buying a plane ticket and meeting your partner in person. You\u2019ll be able to better assess their potential and directly determine how and with whom your contact works. However, communication via the internet-based phone service Skype is also widely used in Russian business life. While the issue of \u201csurveillance\u201d does play a role in communication, official agencies seem to be able to eavesdrop on Skype only with great difficulty. Even the sometimes outdated phone models offer only limited tracking capabilities. <\/p>\n

Style and Etiquette<\/strong><\/p>\n

The business card lists your last name, first name, and your father\u2019s last name. However, Russians don\u2019t expect you to know \u201call of that.\u201d Simply including your last name along with \u201cGOSPODI\u2019N\u201d or \u201cGOSPOTSCHA\u2019\u201d\u2014which means \u201cMr.\u201d or \u201cMs.\u201d\u2014is perfectly sufficient, and people will often quickly offer to address you by your first name.
\nAlthough business cards often include personal or company information, the email address may appear too personal by German standards. This is not an indication that the person you\u2019re dealing with is untrustworthy. Rather, even in large companies, there is simply no clear standard in this regard in terms of corporate identity or fixed IT guidelines. Common domains in Russia include, for example, yandex.ru, mail.ru, rambler.ru, and list.ru. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to ask your business partner to confirm receipt of your email in your first message. This is because Russian business partners tend to follow the motto: \u201cIf the email doesn\u2019t ask a clear question, I don\u2019t have to write a reply\u201d\u2014and so you won\u2019t know who ultimately received your email. All too often, German partners attribute unanswered emails to the incompetence of their Russian colleagues. In reality, it\u2019s usually due to a strict spam filter or an outdated email address\u2014perhaps because your partner has changed jobs or has a new email address. In these cases, it\u2019s best to call\u2014that way, you\u2019ll be on the safe side. <\/p>\n

Pride and Prejudice<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the Moscow airport, I read an advertising slogan from Russia\u2019s Sberbank: \u201cDoverjaem tem kogo snaem.\u201d Translated, it means \u201cWe trust those we know.\u201d Trust is taken very seriously in Russia\u2014and there\u2019s no clear line between business and personal relationships. Trust must be earned through hard work and requires a great deal of dedication and commitment. The Russian market has been very turbulent over the past ten years. It\u2019s not to be expected that introducing a German product to Russia will always be easy. Hard factors like price and quality can be compared quickly\u2014but trust cannot be copied and is considered a key factor in decision-making. Therefore, always communicate on an equal footing, with great respect, and without disparaging remarks such as: \u201cAre there other roads, or do they all look this bad in Russia?\u201d\u201d Even those who talk about new technologies and boast, \u201cHere in Germany, you can find the latest and greatest,\u201d aren\u2019t really fostering good relationships\u2014Russians are a proud people, and rightly so.
\nA Russian poet once said, \u201cRussia cannot be understood with the mind. It has something all its own. You simply have to believe in Russia.\u201d
\nIf you believe in your success in Russia, prepare yourself well for this unique country. Let yourself be surprised and inspired, for example, by Russian warmth and hospitality\u2014but that\u2019s another topic\u2026 <\/p>\n

\n
<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n

Sincerely, Your Russia Expert,<\/em>
\nNathalie Wenzel, B.S. in Business Administration
\nREC Russia Experts GmbH
\nwww.russland-experten.com
\nTel.: +(49) 731 3788 0070
\nEmail: info@russland-experten.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A guest article by Nathalie Wenzel, REC Russia Experten … <\/p>\n

weiterlesen …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[134,135],"class_list":["post-16099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-personal-note","tag-intercultural","tag-international","tfu-communication-the-ultimate-challenge-what-you-should-keep-in-mind-when-communicating-with-russian-counterparts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfu.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}