日本人最擅長開會嗎 揭祕不同國家的會議文化(中)
Don't even think about a brainstorm
頭腦風暴？想都別想
Where: China, Malaysia, Singapore
國家：中國，馬來西亞，新加坡
Backtracking or debating a topic can go against the traditional Chinese concept of "saving face", which is meant to avoid any mistakes or actions that could bring embarrassment. Laughing at even an obviously amusing answer, pointing out a potential mistake or even being too straightforward in an answer can derail the entire meeting.
試圖改變或爭論議題不符合中國傳統的“留面子”理念，“留面子”就是指他們會避免任何錯誤或可能引起尷尬的行爲。聽到一個明顯可笑的回答而發笑、指出潛在的錯誤，甚至回答得太直接，都會打亂整個會議。
Meetings in a number of Asian countries typically have a desired outcome, without much room for taking a new direction. Knowing the meeting's outcome saves participants from any confrontation or debates, but can be an odd experience for westerners.
很多亞洲國家的會議一般都有一個預期的結果，沒有太多改變方向的空間。與會者已經知道了會議結果，就不會再爭論或起衝突，但西方人會覺得這樣非常奇怪。
"Some people will fly to attend a meeting that they hope to be a brainstorming session, but [in China] brainstorming doesn't take place in meetings," Friedman explained.
弗裏德曼解釋說：“一些人本以爲他們飛去參加的是一個頭腦風暴會議，但是（在中國）會議中並沒有頭腦風暴。”
Savour the interruptions
應對干擾
Where: Italy, France, Spain
國家：意大利，法國，西班牙
When Pascal Soboll meets with clients in Italy or Spain, he's no longer offended if they duck out early or arrive late. Rather than attend the entire three-hour meeting, the managing director at innovation and design firm Daylight Design, has learned that his counterparts there — and in some parts of France — attend based on their own timetable.
如果創新設計公司“日光設計”總經理斯卡爾∠伯爾會見意大利或西班牙的客戶，他就不會再因爲他們遲到或早退而生氣了。因爲他已經認識到，他在意大利、西班牙和法國一些地方的生意夥伴們是遵照自己的時間表參加會議的，而不是開完整整三個小時的會。
"People change their schedules very spontaneously," said Soboll. "They tend to come and go."
索伯爾說：“他們會隨意更改行程，他們一般都是想來就來想走就走。”
For Soboll that means tweaking his own German-based expectations of client behaviour. Rather than expecting the same group to sit through his entire presentation (often analysing the company's existing strategy) he makes it easier for people to turn up as needed. Those who have missed a portion of the presentation can then review and ask questions to avoid information lapses, he adds.
對索伯爾來說，這意味着要扭轉他對客戶行爲的德國式看法。他允許人們視情況需要來開會，而不再期待同樣的一羣人聽完他整個陳述（通常是分析公司當前的戰略）。他補充道，那些錯過了一部分陳述的人可以在之後回顧會議內容、問問題，避免信息遺漏。
