Presentation

[JohnG_AT_spboscc%ccMail -at- SILVERPLATTER -dot- COM]

> I am currently putting together a presentation to a firm based in
> Switzerland and would like to talk to someone who has had experience doing >
the same.  My presentation will be in English only, and that is ok because > the
audience does speak English very well.

> My problem is that I feel I need to be extra careful because this Swiss firm
> recently bought the company that I work for and I heard through the
> grapevine that they seem to think that we (Americans) foolishly spend too
> much money, we are still fighting at the range, and women belong at home
> (especially because we are in the manufacturing business).  I want to show >
them what we have done in the past, where we are going in the future, what
> are obstacles are, and how we can bring both documentation departments
> together to bridge the gap between us.

> Any ideas?  Please feel free to e-mail me directly.

> -------------------------------------------------------------
> Deborah E. Shea    Internet:76232 -dot- 257 -at- compuserve -dot- com


   I work closely with colleagues in our office in London and we occasionally
   butt heads over mostly well-documented trans-Atlantic cultural differences.

   Although the issues in your situation may be quite different from those
   facing my company, I think the best thing you can do is to absolutely banish
   any tendencies to treat the experience as an "us versus them" experience.
   That also means you have to head off any tendencies of the Swiss office for
   treating the experience in that light.

   I find it's really fun to learn how people in other parts of the world treat
   business and life. There are similarities as well as differences.

   John Goldie
   SilverPlatter Information, Inc.
   johng -at- silverplatter -dot- com