{"id":12924,"date":"2021-06-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/mind-your-language\/"},"modified":"2021-06-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T00:00:00","slug":"mind-your-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2021\/mind-your-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Mind your language"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I love language. It\u2019s my thing, has been since I was a kid. Hopeless at math or science but oh how I love language. \u00a0My maternal grandparents came to Scotland penniless between the wars, opened a \u2018Gelateria\u2019 and made the most delicious ice cream and enough money to have their 6 children educated privately!\u00a0 Rather than \u2018Macari\u2019s\u2019 ice cream shop, they had to name it \u2018The Soda Fountain\u2019 as when WW2 hit, the \u2018Tallys\u2019 as we were known, were not always in favour with the Scots thanks to Mussolini, and Italian shops were vandalised on a regular basis.\u00a0 My Nonno was whipped away to a prisoner of war camp on the Isle of Man for 2 years (he loved it there!) leaving Nonna to fend for herself and look after the family.<\/p>\n

As well as attending regular school, my brother and I were sent to Italian school on a Saturday morning.\u00a0 I loved it.\u00a0 We learned Italian through songs, poems, games and having fun \u2013 best way to learn.\u00a0 Every summer, we went on 3-week language holidays to Viareggio in Tuscany, with other \u2018Italo-Scozzesi\u2019 kids, trips heavily subsidised by the Italian government in a bid to keep the language alive in Scotland.\u00a0 Brilliant idea and what was not to like!\u00a0 Language classes in the morning, beach in the afternoon, in the evening we mixed with the locals to practise the language. \u00a0And the food, what can I say.\u00a0 Anyway, I was fluent in Italian by the time I reached High School and the passion for language was born and continues to this day.<\/p>\n

I was recently on holiday in Portknockie, a tiny fishing village in NE Scotland where my paternal grandmother was born, next to Cullen, where the famous soup \u2018Cullen Skink\u2019 originates (smoked haddock with tatties, onions and milk (not double cream btw, that\u2019s as bad as putting ice in single malt whisky), \u00a0try it if you haven\u2019t, it\u2019s delicious, nutritious and easy to make (click here for the recipe<\/a>)<\/a>, let me know what you think.\u00a0 There are public toilets in Cullen which display signs above them as \u201cLoons (boys) and \u2018Quines\u2019 (girls).\u00a0\u00a0 The kids are taught \u201cproper\u201d English in school but as soon as the bell rings they revert to their own dialect, Doric.\u00a0 \u2018Fit like?\u2019 how are you, \u2018Far ee gan ma quine\u2019 where are you going, \u2018I\u2019m awa fer a dook in ma dookers\u2019 \u2013 I\u2019m off for a swim in my swimsuit, \u2018Far dive ee bide\u2019 where do you live, \u2018He\u2019s an affa feel loon\u2019 \u2013 he\u2019s a naughty\/horrid boy, \u2018Yer sheen are full\u2019\u2013 your shoes are dirty.<\/p>\n

Scotwork\u2019s HQ is in Glasgow where they also have a language of their own. Couple of years ago a colleague used a phrase that baffled me. She said, \u201csometimes you have to bum your own chuff\u2019. I had to ask her to repeat (I\u2019m from Edinburgh!), and even then, was clueless. I had visions of hair removal devices and other things which make the eyes water.\u00a0 It transpires that \u2018bum yer own chuff\u2019 means \u2018blow your own trumpet\u2019. Who knew! I love it, it sounds so irreverent.<\/p>\n

Language in any negotiation is important and must be carefully planned in each step of the process.\u00a0 From preparation, where you should be deciding exactly what you will say to open the meeting, what questions you\u2019ll be asking, what information you\u2019ll be giving, right through to the words you use to close the meeting and ensure nothing else will be asked of you and that everything is agreed and can be implemented by both parties.<\/p>\n

Throughout the entire process, we give and receive verbal signal which we must be aware of as they can often show flexibility around what\u2019s being said.\u00a0 For example, how many signals are there in the following phrase?\u00a0 Imagine the other party, in response to my proposal, says:<\/p>\n

\u2018That is difficult for me to agree today\u2019<\/p>\n

There are 4 potential signals in the phrase:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. That \u2013 is there something else which you could agree to, if not that?<\/li>\n
  2. Difficult \u2013 what would I have to do to make that easier for you to agree to today?<\/li>\n
  3. Me \u2013 would someone else be able to agree to it?<\/li>\n
  4. Today \u2013 when would you be able to agree to that?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Listen carefully for those signals and then test them with good questions.<\/p>\n

    You should be very aware of the language you use.\u00a0 If you tell me that you are here to increase my price by \u2018something in the region of, or around about, or more or less 5%\u2019, then please do not expect me to agree to anything near 5%, far less is what you have signalled that you will settle for so that\u2019s what you are likely to get.\u00a0 We give signals all the time, which is fine if that\u2019s your intention, if it\u2019s not, then don\u2019t give them and use definitive language instead.<\/p>\n

    Arrivederci. In boca al lupo !!<\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I love language. It\u2019s my thing, has been since I was a kid. Hopeless at math or science but oh how I love language. \u00a0My maternal grandparents came to Scotland penniless between the wars, opened a \u2018Gelateria\u2019 and made the most delicious ice cream and enough money to have their 6 children educated privately!\u00a0 Rather…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":12925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_legacy_url":"blog-nz\/2021\/mind-your-language\/","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMind your language | Scotwork NZ Negotiation Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World leaders in business negotiation training and consultancy with experts across 120 countries, with negotiation courses taught in 29 languages.\" 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