The Hindu Business Line : ‘Face-saving’ in cross-cultural communication

A few weeks ago, Global Adjustments was invited to a training discussion with Ralph (name changed), who is the head of a large Swedish company in Chennai. At the end of our interactive session, I asked him about a point contact person who would help me coordinate the project. Ralph turned to Vijay, the HR manager who had been present throughout, and identified him as the key person. I proceeded to explain our procedures, and requested a series of documents in order to move forward. I then politely asked: “Vijay, when can I expect a mail from you?”

After brief hesitation, he replied that I would get everything by the end of the day. At this point, Ralph immediately looked at him and said: “No, it’s not going to happen. Vijay, you know you have a lot of work right now, and you will not be able to send all of this by this evening.” Ralph then turned to me and indicated that the most realistic timeframe would be within two weeks.

A few days later, we facilitated a cross-cultural training programme in Delhi for a German company. As a way of tackling the bull by its horns, I put the following question to the entire group consisting of Germans and Indians: “Can you please tell me some of the difficulties and issues you encounter while working together?”

Almost instantly I heard, “Deadlines are a problem… it is difficult to know whether something can or cannot be done… information and status reports are often lacking… we don’t hear NO, etc…” As I looked around, I realised that every single comment was coming from the Germans. The Indian participants, on the other hand, were silent. I pushed for a pause, looked at the Indian colleagues, and asked them directly if THEY had anything to say about the German way of working. Despite my efforts, there was no significant response.

What is face-saving?

Face-saving has a great influence on the Indian communication style. It is all about avoiding embarrassment not only to oneself but also to others, especially if they are seniors, elders, or people of a different nationality. In India, an individual can feel a loss of face if he or she finds himself or herself in the following situations:

Admitting that something is not possible

Admitting a mistake

Saying that they do not know something, when in fact they should

Saying that they do not understand something

Admitting that they are not going to make a deadline

Asking for help or additional time

Similarly, an individual may refrain from the following if he or she believes that it will cause loss of face to somebody else:

Openly disagreeing with someone, especially if he or she is a senior.

Making an overtly negative comment about what someone else has said.

Giving negative feedback.

Why do we save face?

In the first story, Vijay feels the need to save his own face. With his boss sitting next to him, he is afraid that by giving a “delayed” deadline (though realistic), he will be perceived as slow and incompetent. His response is meant to please everyone, rather than being functionally accurate. Ralph, on the other hand, is looking for an answer that is more “honest”. By honesty he means an answer that is professionally correct and true to the best of one’s knowledge at a given time. He strongly believes that such realistic information is critical for efficiency, clarity in expectations, as well as time and project management. As far as Vijay is concerned, however, the cultural priority is face-saving.

In the second story, the Indian participants do not want to embarrass their German colleagues by overtly listing out their issues in an open forum. They are, in effect, maintaining harmony and do not want the Germans to lose face through any open criticisms of THEIRS. Ironically, just three days before our meeting, the same group had participated in a weeklong team-building programme at a resort.

As far as the Germans were concerned, MY direct question to the group implied the expectation of a direct response. Their feedback was not meant to embarrass or to be a personal attack. Instead, they viewed it as “objectively” true from a professional point of view. In the West, communication is mostly about information exchange, which has to be clear and unambiguous.

They believe that such an approach leads to greater efficiency, especially if problems are to be detected and remedial action has to be taken.

The purpose of communication

For Indians (and for many Asian countries), however, the key purpose of communication is often to preserve harmony and avoid offence.

Because a collectivist mentality still drives the social fabric of Indian life, the strengthening of relationships between members remains of critical importance. This does not mean that we are unable to communicate unpleasant messages. In general, especially in the presence of hierarchy or foreigners, we do so non-verbally by implying, hinting, or suggesting rather than being explicit.

Bridging differences

As the session with the Germans came to an end, the concept of face-saving and its impact on communication was an enlightening experience for them. They understood that the secret was to be more attentive to non-verbal cues and to be clearly sensitive to the weight of face-saving.

As for the Indians, being direct and saying NO remains a challenge because face-saving is not merely a value but a real and powerful emotion.

However, with practice and greater global exposure, Indians will undoubtedly adapt as the need for efficient communication rises.

(The writer is a lead trainer with Global Adjustments, a relocation and cross-cultural services company. He can be contacted at globalindian@globaladjustments.com)