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Working with Americans on Virtual Teams – Training Program

Posted On: September 28, 2015

Participants will learn the do’s and don’ts of conversation and interaction with Americans in business relationships. Small talk, conversation and American business values will be discussed and practiced in this lively one-day seminar.  -Presented by Ms. Jennifer Kumar

Target audience: Indian or professionals new to the US culture who work with Americans or in the US. Onshore, offshore and outsourced employees are often nominated for these programs to increase understandings of American’s mindset, working culture and approach to professionalism and building successful business partnerships and relationships. 

8 Hour Virtual Live Instructor Led Training (ILT):

[Sessions are delivered in 1 hour segments a few times a week until content is exhausted.]

Morning:
Introductions & Small Talk with US Clients
Participants will identify appropriate small talk topics, while learning to avoid topics that Americans don’t talk about at work. Participants will have a chance to practice creating small talk conversations with feedback from an American citizen.

US Workplace Values Discussion
Behavior of any people is shaped by their values. Learn the mindset of Americans through learning their workplace values through discussion, demo, interactive activities and live feedback from an American citizen.

Afternoon:

Group Discussion Skills for In-person and Phone Meetings
Afternoon sessions include case studies and role plays where participants will re-enact client scenarios applying the concepts from the morning session. The facilitator will provide insight and tips for improvement to build confidence in interacting with US Americans.

Targeted Voice and Accent Modules
When and where required, accent modulation and voice enhancement exercises will be delivered to improve the voice quality of participants over the phone with US clients. Participants will be exposed to US English phrases and words as related to the topics at hand.

See a sample 16 hour program outline here.

Keep in Mind:
This above outline offers scenarios generalized to many cross-cultural problems in India-US based teams. Collecting case studies, customer feedback and specific scenarios from client or onsite interactions can tailor this training to help your employee’s solve their cross-cultural blunders. All company specific details, stories, client or customer feedback collected to tailor the training will be completely confidential.

Most frequently, this training is delivered directly to the employees, client-facing team members, managers, and others working with Americans.

This training is also available as a Train-the-Trainer’s module to India-based trainers or trainers in the US providing cross-cultural training to expat workers working and living in the USA.

Previous Participants Praised This Program:

“This course builds skills in selling, marketing, and/or providing services to our customers and partners. I will incorporate the cultural practices learnt in the calls and client facing scenarios.“ Microsoft Participant at Hyderabad

“This was a unique training that helped me to build communication block by block and present it. I also learned the proper pleasantries and some phrases used by Americans (ex. “on the dot”).” – Sunil Joseph, UST Global

“The activities in the session make the sessions more alive. I like your way of talking as it encourages us a lot.” ~Rishi, Infopark

“We could express our feelings and opinions freely in your class. The activities are really good, so the classes are not boring.” ~Dilna, Kochi

“After your sessions, I can understand a little better how the US and Indian cultures work. I have also learned some important conversational skills (greetings, goodbyes, tones, etc.) that will help me understand and communicate with US clients better. Thank you for helping us to understand ourselves better.” ~Nikhil Vincent, UST Global


Photos of Past Participants (used with permission):

About the Program Creator:
About Jennifer Kumar. Jennifer has over 15 years experience living between US and India. Jennifer has earned her college degrees in the US and in India. She is the /managing Director of Authentic Journeys, located in Infopark, Kochi. Contact her to get started.