Working with Indian professionals: how to improve communication

The frustration of Europeans in India is well known: why doesn’t my Indian business partner just tell me clearly where things stand? On the other hand, Indians struggle with Europeans’ matter-of-factness and directness, which they usually perceive as blunt. Culture and communication trainer Nandini Bedi of IndiaConnected, explains where the mutual discomfort comes from.

Communication in Europe vs. India

A few years ago I asked an Indian woman who worked at Tata Corus what she saw as the biggest difference between Europe and India. “It took me a long time to get used to the businesslike and direct nature of the people there,” she replied. I think that directness is an expression of transparency. Simple, efficient, clear. What you see is what you get. A transparent, clear and honest message in which nothing is hidden.

This reasoning, in which transparency and efficiency are central, is in stark contrast to what Indians find important: the underlying explanation. That’s why Indians sometimes get bogged down in verbiage so that their final answer doesn’t come as a surprise. Their answer is usually nuanced – and their story takes you along their considerations. This is how Indians usually communicate: indirectly.

As a European boss, partner or client, it is therefore smart to examine your own way of communicating and to teach yourself ways to convey your message in a softer way with the necessary substantiation. This way you prevent a potential business partner or colleague from being put off, because they experience your way of communicating as rude.

In India, you will not be told ‘no’

In Europe, in almost all cases you will get an honest insight into how feasible your plans or ideas are, how long it will take to realise a project and how much it will cost. In India, this is different, there people will be inclined to give you the answer they expect you to want to hear. A ‘no’ is therefore not found in the vocabulary of an Indian.

It is therefore important that you learn to read between the lines and learn to ask the right questions, in order to gain the most honest insight possible into the situation. In addition, India requires a more flexible attitude from Europeans regarding deadlines and budgets, which is simply an aspect of doing business in India that you need to take into account.

Of course, there are ways to learn to set up a working environment in which, according to European standards, there is open communication between all parties. In our workshop ‘Efficient collaboration with India’ we train your teams in Europe and India, separately or better yet, together. The result of the workshop is more mutual understanding, more efficient communication, more job satisfaction, increased efficiency and better results. We answer questions such as:

• Which communication strategy works?
• How do I get good feedback from my employees in India?
• How do I manage my team efficiently in India?
• How do I develop proactivity in my Indian team?