English has become the language of international business, whether we like it or not! A lot of business communication in the 21st century takes place in English between two professionals who are both using it as a second language.
I’m an Italian who has lived in the UK since 2011, working in marketing since 2017. I was a marketing intern at Speak Up London in 2017 and have now come back to work in the digital marketing executive role. I have noticed major differences in how I am expected to present myself at work in the UK as compared to Italy.
I’ll start with everyday communication in the workplace, such as emails and meetings.
Written communication
Email communication in the UK tends to be more informal, but also depends on how well you know the person you are emailing. In Italy, however, you need to use very formal vocabulary at work and with people you don’t know as a sign of respect.
Good advice for writing emails when you start working in the UK:
● If you don’t know the person, and you want to be a little more formal, start the conversation with a “Good morning/afternoon/evening” and sign the email with either “Best regards/Kind regards”. This is a good way to send an email to a senior manager, director or CEO of a company unless you are asked to use a different set of phrases or a specific email template.
● For more formal communication, or just to be polite in your first email of the day, feel free to add a sentence such as “Hope you’re well” at the beginning of the email.
● Once you know the person better, address your colleague with “Hi/Hello”
A pro tip is to observe how your colleagues write emails to you – if it’s informal, you can do the same, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
When I started working, if I was unsure of an email I had to send, I would ask my manager or a colleague I trusted to check it for me.
Spoken communication
It’s my experience after living in the UK for 13 years that direct communication is not always the best way to get your point across. The British often use a roundabout way to tell you what is needed because being too direct may sound rude. I come from a culture where people speak more directly to each other. In Italy, Germany, and many other European countries, it’s very common to just say what you’re thinking.
It has taken me a very long time not to be as direct as I used to be when I first came to the
UK, but it’s still a work in progress. The way I handle this in the office or during interviews is
to let them know that it can be difficult. I have said these things to my colleagues in the past:
● “I tend to be direct – please let me know if this is something you’re okay with.” In my mind, I have warned them that it could happen, and asked them to let me know if they are happy to be communicated with in this way.
● “I’m direct when I communicate, but I won’t just be direct – I’ll also provide solutions to any problems we’re having or explain why it’s an issue.” With this sentence, I have told my manager that I will tell them about problems directly, but it won’t be just to complain – I will also offer ways to fix the problems. I hope that this makes me seem proactive.
Another pro tip from me: If you’re learning how not to be too direct with something, take a deep breath and think about how you would explain something to someone who doesn’t do the same job as you or doesn’t work at your company, and therefore doesn’t have the context. It helps you to figure out how to say something in a softer way. For example, as a manager, instead of saying This won’t work, I’ll say Here are the reasons this might not work:..
During our Business English courses, you’ll learn how to navigate some of these intercultural issues through role-playing different meeting scenarios and learning to write emails.