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Many companies today are focusing on international markets as a source of new business. As a result, American marketing professionals often find themselves having to communicate with an audience whose culture is different from theirs. Not only do these new clients and prospective clients come from non-American backgrounds, but also, for many of them, English is a second language.

Savvy international marketers know that building positive, long-term relationships is essential to conducting business abroad. To do so requires an understanding of the culture of the person they are dealing with.

In the same way, the business writing style used to reach an international audience should take into account the background of the target readership. That means that letters, faxes, and marketing materials should be tailored to the cultural sensitivities of the people we are trying to communicate with. In many cases, the standard American business writing style used in the U.S. may not be appropriate for foreign readers.

Most of the challenges faced by businesspeople writing for international readers stem from ingrained differences in the style and rules of communicating. In general, Americans tend to be informal, frank, friendly, and outgoing, and this is often reflected in their writing. However, these attributes, though well intentioned, may be viewed by people from other cultures as signs of disrespect, ignorance, or rudeness.

I witnessed this while working on a research project in Beijing, China in the mid-1980's. While interviewing American executives about the difficulties of doing business in China, the most common complaint I heard was the "unwillingness" of the Chinese to "get down to business." Instead, they insisted on building a relationship (which is very important in the Chinese culture) with their U.S. colleagues before discussing business specifics. More than one American businessman considered this nothing more than a blatant stalling tactic. It was this gap in understanding that doomed the prospects of many American companies operating in China at that time

When it comes to cross-cultural communicating, the manner and style in which something is said is often as important as the actual information being presented. In a personal setting with a non-American counterpart, small things such as eye contact, vocal inflection, and hand and body movement play a part in the image conveyed about one's character, company, and product or service. Similarly, being sensitive to the nuances involved in cross-cultural writing will help insure that the message one is trying to get across will be successfully received, understood, and acted upon.

Following are some key guidelines for international writers to keep in mind:

Write with a style and structure that emphasizes clarity and makes it easy for the reader to follow: short paragraphs, short sentences, logical order, active voice, present tense, and phrasing in positive terms should be employed.
Avoid informality in tone and approach. Do not omit salutations which include the receiver's name and title; these are often indicators of respect in other countries. When in doubt, use politeness.
Write in plain, simple, accurate English. Use common words and avoid complex terminology, and include explanations whenever the possibility of confusion might exist. Avoid abbreviations, or, at the very least, define them where necessary. A side benefit to clear, succinct writing is that if future translations into other languages are required, they will be easier and result in less errors arising from cross-language misunderstandings.
Avoid commonly used American English components like acronyms (ASAP), metaphors (solid as a rock), jargon (24/7, paradigm shift), slang (you're good to go), clichés (different strokes for different folks) and colloquialisms (strike while the iron is hot). Esoteric American business and financial jargon is especially likely to confuse a foreign audience. Avoid phrasal (two-worded) verbs (pull in, go over, etc.) that may not be immediately clear to non-Americans.
Be careful with expressions and references specific to North American culture that could potentially confuse or insult the reader. Use care with slogans, which, if translated literally, could create problems. Most international marketers are familiar with the story of how the slogan featured in Pepsi's ad campaign in China, "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life," was translated as "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave."
Be attentive when formatting postal codes, telephone numbers and dates. Europeans use the day/month/year format, while Americans use month/day/year. During my many years of doing business in Canada, I have seen customers there use the European, American, and, in some cases, the "online form" (year/month/day) formats.
When creating electronic transmissions like e-mails and fax messages, the same rules for writing should be followed. The popular American habit of composing e-mail messages using shorthand, acronyms, and emoticons, while omitting salutations, is not a good practice in international communications.

It is a fact that international borders and barriers to doing business are becoming more transparent. However, just because our global customers are now very accessible, it does not mean that we can communicate with them as if they came from our corner of the world. In fact, it is precisely because they are so reachable that we should take extra care to be sensitive about how they are not like us. The American writer's ability to anticipate, understand, and adjust to cultural differences will often make the difference between an awkward, potentially disastrous situation and a successful business relationship.

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