Managing communication in the first meeting
Communication is the most important things that we always meet in every area of life. With communication we can convey all our requests to others. Communication could causes various introductions between one person and others who may have cultural differences. However, in conversations there are may be differences in understanding the meaning of the words spoken or the way someone expresses them. This matters could lead to failure in talking about our first meeting. Therefore there are some things that must be included in effective communication during the first meeting with other people who have different cultural in delivery of the intended communication, those are first we should understanding how to greet people from various countries, then we should find ways to begin what could to be good small talk as the first meeting, and the last we have to presentation or explain about the topic of our meeting clearly.
First, we should understand how to greetings that is appropriate for everyone from various countries. When we do the first meeting, the first thing we do is greeting to the people we will meet. According to ( Ahmadjay. Bagaimanacara Orang Menyapa Berdasarkan Asal Negara ?. 2017 ) In greeting someone there are many different ways to greet someone from various countries. For example, how to say hello or greeting in America, usually done by joining hands between two people or commonly called the shakehand . After touching the palms and holding each other, the shakehand is swung up and down as needed. Then the Japanese greet each other by bowing, depending on the situation, the duration and slope of the posture can vary. Indians say the word “namaste” while raising both hands to their chest, the position of the palms touching and fingers facing up. Similar to Indian customs, greetings in Thailand called wai use a gesture similar to people praying, followed by a slight bow. In France, it has become a habit to kiss the cheek when meeting. Then many people in New Zaeland greet by using a gesture called, Hongi, which is done by two people touching each other’s nose and forehead together. In Botswana, you have to do a series of processions to greet someone properly. Reach your right arm while your left hand is holding the elbow of your right hand. Shake hands by touching the thumb first then the palm of the hand, then return to its original position. Say the phrase “Lae kae?” which means how are you in Tswana. Next in Saudi Arabia, people use a handshake and say Assalamualaikum which means peace and prosperity with you. Usually followed by touching each other’s nose and holding the shoulder that was found. So, when we first meet with people from other countries who have cultures that are different from ours, we should know how to greet them properly and politely and in accordance w
Next, we should be able to find a suitable small talk for our first meeting. To be able to establish good and accommodating communication between one person and another from another countries, we should be able to determine the first small talk that we have to talk about which are compatible with other people’s cultures. In choosing the first small talk of conversation with other people who are different cultures or different countries with us, there are a number of things that we should pay attention, so that later we can feel comfortable in conducting conversations with people from different countries. According to ( Anggaini.4 Tips Bersosialisasi di Amerika Serikat.2019 ) when we are having a first meeting with people from the United States, the first small talk which we should discuss after greeting is that we start by asking something light and interesting, for example, about the state of the place being visited or about the weather conditions at that time. Then try to avoid personal things about religion, race, or politics as not to offend their privacy. And as a further addition, we use simple language and informal approaches. Americans are usually known as individuals who prefer direct communication, because they think that body language is very confusing. So communicating in simple and direct language on the subject will be considered very effective. Therefore, in starting a conversation with another person who coming from another country, we should start from the topic of small talk first. Then we should never ask things that pertain to their privacy, so that they feel comfortable with us during the impression of the first meeting.
The last is we have to presentation or explain about the topic of our meeting clearly. After we did greetings and we did a small talk, so it’s time to open our meeting by presentation the topic of our meeting. For the effective communication, we should presenting the content of the topic by using a language which understand by our client. For example we could using English language because English is the one of the national language. Next, we presenting all of the content clearly by showing some of the material that we discussed. Based on the (https://www.ef.co.id/englishfirst/englishstudy/bahasa-inggris/tips-presentasi-menggunakan-bahasa-inggris.aspx.) we should give our clients the opportunity to ask questions or give a feedback to the presentation about our meeting, because by giving client the opportunity to ask questions, the client will feel more valued. Then, we have to aswer and clarify about the client’s question until the client understand about the project and feel satisfied about it. After we did those all, we have to sum up all the content that we discussed. The last, we have to close the meeting and don’t forget to say thank you to our client. Thus, to keep our communication effectively in the meeting, we should engage in two-way communication.