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The reason I’d like to focus on mistakes made by “US clients” is because I tend to work with teams in India around meeting management, leadership skills, project management with their US counterparts. Oftentimes, it may be thought that only the India team members need these training programs to be more client-ready, when in fact, it is also noticed that the US-based counterpart could also use some guidelines around best practices as no one is perfect all the time. Due to that, I thought to write this article on mistakes my Indian clients have seen being made by their US counterpart and ideas for solutions that you (in India) can apply to smooth over the situation.

Mistakes US Clients Make in Virtual Meetings (With Solutions)

1. Summarize a few points that were heard and ask for clarity.
2. Select a section you did not understand and ask only about that (as compared to repeating everything). Based not the context you could use any of the following: “Could we please review X again?” or “I’m sorry I am not familiar with X term.” or “Could you please share an example of X?” or “How does X show up in your work process?”
3. Extract a word and ask for clarity about that one word, “I heard you say C hash, is that C sharp?” or, “What is CPP?“, or “Was the phrase, “home stretch” an idiom? I am not familiar with that.” 
4. If the speaker was talking about more than one point, maybe asking the speaker to talk only about one point at a time. “I think I heard you speaking about three different bugs? Is it possible to focus only on ticket number 469 first?” (The conversational partner hopefully will stop after talking about that particular bug, then give the client a chance to respond.)

We can always take care to speak in a more global way– in a plain version of the language, without many localisms, slangs, or jargon (including technical or professional jargon when talking to someone new to our outside of our industry). We should try to speak slow, but not like a robot. It is important to learn how to inflect our speech to sound natural and not rehearsed.

If you hear a word you do not know, and do not want to ask directly about the meaning, don’t forget to keep listening. Listen to the entire context and then try to respond (even native speakers may not know the meaning to every word they hear) or ask for clarity on that word is not understood by paraphrasing and asking a clarifying question. For example:

So far I understand that we must continue to handle the tickets as they come in. We have Aseem on the day shift and Dhruv on the evening shift. Is this what is referred to when using the term rota? 

In fact, these are good conversational exercises you can use to practice when learning and using new vocabulary. I often use this in fluency coaching with good outcomes.

 

It probably won’t be a good idea to ask people to speak in shorter sentences. Firstly, if we take this solution upon ourselves, it could be possibly mirrored by our client over time. But, meanwhile, again the best solution you can apply is careful listening and paraphrasing where you aren’t clear.

When people speak in long sentences (or write), the grammar gets confused and the main topics or ideas get muddled in a sea of words. If your non-native speaking counterpart talks in long sentences or tends to talk for a long time before giving you a chance to speak, have a pad and paper nearby to take notes. Do not write out every single thing he or she says, but write the main word/topic. Then, when it’s your turn to talk, reflect back for clarity calling out main points.

As we do not have control over our client’s technical gadgetry, it will be our responsibility to manage our own gadgetry and our own posture. Possibly, another approach would be to know the ins and out of the technical specifications of the platform we are using. If you are well versed in the digital online platform, you may be able to provide ‘technical support’ to your client to assure they are audible or their equipment (such as mic or video) may be working properly.

If not working from the office, it may be tempting to take a call while relaxing on the couch or bed. This will not be a good idea if you need to be heard clearly. Lounging and having bad posture makes your voice not as clear as if you are sitting up straight with a straight neck. If you don’t believe me, jump on a call with me and turn off your video. Talk sitting or laying in different positions, most of the time I can tell when you are bending your neck or lounging. It doesn’t sound professional, and will sound as if you are casual or not serious.

 

As we wrap up this article, just keep in mind the if you are blaming yourself for the miscommunication in your global client interactions, it’s not always your fault. Though there may be things we can always do to improve our own approach and communication, our clients or colleagues are not perfect either. I hope this article has given you some insight into that as well as some ideas to overcome some of the common problems.

Original post date – July 1, 2015
Updated – July 1, 2020, Jan. 2021