"Thinking is not to agree or disagree. That is voting."
Robert Frost
20th century American poet
The Japanese have an interesting communication characteristic often misunderstood by westerners.
Upon hearing what the other person has to say, they will repeatedly say "hai", which mean yes.
To many non Japanese this is mistakenly interpreted as agreement when in fact the listener is only saying "I hear you."
When was the last time you acknowledged hearing what the other person said to you, and if you did, did you then think about what it meant?
Hai? I thought they were saying Hi.
ReplyDeleteI spent time in Japan for business about two years ago. the Japanese culture is amazing - the listening is intense and in some cases, "hai" is softly spoken as the listener is paying very close attention to your words, the meaning and impact. It was a terrific experience.
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