Pardon My French
Working in a new language is intimidating, particularly when a part of your job is to create beautiful messages. What an incredible challenge to face each day!
Most of my meetings and emails are in French here. Mind you, I studied French for years so you’d think that this would be simple. I was an AP French nerd in high school and minored in French in college. Unfortunately, quite a bit of that was lost through a lack of practice. On top of that, no class prepared me for working in French. Industry terms, slang and colloquial phrases are brand spanking new.
To illustrate how this translates (ha – pun) to my day, let’s think about the standard business meeting in the US. You confidently join the meeting and introduce yourself to anyone you don’t know. You make small talk until the meeting begins. You then lay out a strategy or idea. It might be somewhat complicated and filled with industry terms or buzzwords (eye roll - cue the use of "synergy"). Then a dialogue ensues about the best path forward. You follow along and are additive to the conversation. The attendees come to a conclusion and everyone acts on whatever was decided.
Now picture doing all of that if the language isn’t second nature. Imagine pausing after everyone speaks to wonder if you understood the words correctly and then considering their full meaning. It can be nerve-wracking. During my first few weeks in Paris, this happened somewhat frequently.
Thankfully, I’m learning how to handle it better. Three tricks seem to work best:
1. Starting the meeting by playfully asking everyone to speak slowly as I’m learning the language.
2. Pausing mid-meeting to confirm that I understood everything to that point. While it makes me feel uncomfortable to impede productivity, it means I can be a real participant.
3. Using English! I’ve found that most people have a proficiency. Of course, I don’t want to be disrespectful by presumptively speaking English (I don’t want to be that American) but if we’re in a time crunch or it’s a complicated conversation, I’ve found that I can respond to French with English.
I’m learning more in general! This is definitely immersion at its finest. Every day without fail I leave work with an arsenal of new information about how the French communicate between one another and to their clients. I want to get up to speed as quickly as possible and the only way I know how to do it is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. I don’t expect to ever be perfect (everyone teases that the French don’t know how to speak French) but I hope to be proficient enough to survive these meetings without overthinking.
It helps that many business words are the same. My first week, I asked one co-worker how to say “new business” and she just smiled and said “new beez” in an incredible French accent. There are so many terms like that! Call = call. Strategy = strategie. Slide = slide. I sure don’t hate the overlap.
Most importantly, my new co-workers have been lovely. They’re patient, helpful and encouraging. The best advice I’ve gotten thus far is from the MD in Paris, saying “relax and the French will come.” I’m working on it, everyone. I assure you that.
