Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “No man should travel until he has learned the language of the country he visits.” This is reflected in the boom in language learning for business travellers. To bridge the language gap, travellers have taken the time to learn local tongues. Berlitz, Europe’s largest school, has more than doubled its lessons since 1985.

One of the keys to success is to do business in the other person’s language. But unless you can really manage in a language, it is usually best to save it for social tete-a-tete. English is of course the accepted lingua franca for business travellers in most parts of the world. But obliging people to speak it when they are not fluent can lead to grave misunderstandings.

Take the case of a former German chancellor who was presented to the queen during a visit to London. He had practiced his English for the occasion. But when he was introduced to her, he said, “Who are you?” instead of “How are you?” She replied, “I am the queen of England.”

A good trade-off is for both sides to speak their own language. For most people this means speaking through interpreters or using one of those gadgets that offer instant translations on the road. You have to make sure that your message is well-received in a cultural and linguistic sense.

Be careful about using humour on formal occasions. In Britain, if you make an after-dinner speech, you are criticised if you do not crack a joke while in France you will be criticised if you do. It can be quite awkward with simultaneous interpretation. When you make a witty remark, those people listening in English laugh; then the French and Italians laugh; then there is a pause because the Dutch and the Germans are still waiting for the verb at the end of the sentence before they understand it.

In face-to-face meetings or negotiations, everything depends on the skill of the interpreter. For your part, always keep your sentences short but avoid over simplifying and pause frequently. Avoid vague expressions. Look at the person with whom you are talking – not the interpreter and keep eye contact when culturally appropriate.

The Japanese have devised a repertoire of smile, nods and polite noise when listening. The purpose is to keep you talking usually misinterpreted by Westerners as agreement. The Japanese have subtle ways of voicing personal opinions and at the same time manifest superb politeness which can mean they say “yes” when they really mean “no”.

Saving face is important to the Japanese thus they have developed a set of rules to prevent things going awry. So, refrain from saying no or asking questions when the answer might be no.

In Europe, there are also misleading cognates between languages like English or French. When the French says “We demand your latest profit figure…” it means” We are asking for the latest profit figure…” Demander in French means to ask, not to demand.