Ranked #1 in the World
By: Jayme Self
A sunrise workout where David worked us each into a pool of sweat. Morning meetings. Research. Two lunch meetings. Afternoon brainstorming session that felt more like pulling teeth than creative banter.
By the time our 4pm, and final meeting for the day arrived, David and I were exhausted – mentally and physically, headed into what would turn out to be the most difficult interview yet.
The interview with the Chief Accountant was critical to understanding some of the resource allocation issues we’ve been charged with attacking, but less than two minutes into the meeting it was clear that our target interviewee was not at all comfortable with English, and we weren’t going to make any progress until Jane, the HR Manager, was able to finish another meeting and join us to translate.
My mind – and notepad – were bursting with questions for her, but I couldn’t seem to put any of them into simple enough vocabulary that she would understand. I stared at David. He stared back at me. I tried another question. She stared at me blankly.
I looked back at David – and saw the light bulb go off. He drew five faces on his notepad, frowns and smiles, and asked “How do you like Sharp Ideas?”
She nodded, then pointed to a face. Finally, we were able to continue with questions and take the conversation forward until Jane arrived.
10 Points: Global Mindset.
April 18th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I meant slow speech
April 18th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
I have definitely encountered situations like that many times before! I have stayed in host families that spoke little to no English, and the only way to communicate simple things like what time I needed to be where was by drawing pictures or, in essence, playing charades. It can leave you feeling frustrated and helpless, but it feels so good once you’re able to finally understand each other. Well done team!
February 10th, 2013 at 8:12 am