By Greg Bissky

Confucius is still alive in Chinese Asia (as well as in Japan, Korea and Vietnam). Proving far stronger than the (European) ideas of Marx or Lenin, his moral and societal philosophy easily overcame the concerted efforts of the Chinese Communist Party in China to “rid the nation of [his] feudal teachings.” From Shanghai to Taipei to Hong Kong to Singapore, his influence can be seen in all aspects of Chinese society, especially Chinese business communication.

Chinese reports are often filled with polite but meaningless words; business letters and faxes take one, and often two or three, paragraphs to get to the point. Chinese meetings are characterized by general and/or superficial discussion: ensuring that no one loses face is more important than clearly examining the entire range of opinions. What’s missing from Chinese communication are well-reasoned arguments, strong conclusions, clear recommendations, tough questions, candid opinions and frank disagreements. All require a person to be definite, to clearly say This is what I think, and thus all risk hurting a relationship with those who disagree (especially in hierarchical relationships).

Successful business communication depends upon people taking risks. For example, if Mr. A. believes there are some serious problems with parts of Mr. B.’s plan he must make Mr. B. clearly understand this, even if it means risking hurting Mr. B.’s feelings. Anything less than total un¬derstanding by Mr. B. is unacceptable in business. Yet if Mr. A. were Chinese he would likely consider being clear about his disagreement as being impolite, and would normally speak the message in an indirect way in order to preserve harmony and good relations. Face or politeness—no risk—would be more important to Mr. A. than clear communication.

It all comes down to attitude. A Chinese may work in an office, wear a business suit and have advanced degrees but he will still communicate in the way his mother taught him. He will worry more about being polite than being clear, more about not hurting his relations with others than arguing to find the right answer. No matter what his education or experience, he will tend to follow the Rules of Communication laid down by Confucius. Why? He believes in these Rules, believes that being polite is more important than being clear.

Beliefs are among the most powerful influences on human behavior. Stronger than ideas from the brain, beliefs just are. Few Chinese can explain why politeness is most important: they just know it is. Very few Westerners can explain why clarity is the most important either. Changing how people communicate begins by and depends on changing the why. Your challenge in developing relations with Chinese partners or coworkers is to stop insisting on following Western rules, and, as much and as often as possible, finding a compromise between two very different ways of looking at reality.

Greg Bissky, www.treasuremountain.com

This is the fourth and last part of the article “Communication in Chinese Offices”.