Understanding time orientation and speaking styles

- It was the first get to know you meeting with a new client in a different continent. The members of the team I was working with were ready to send over a friendly email introducing the team and an agenda for the first gathering. "Hold on", I told them, "Are you sure that this is the right piece?" You don't want to come across too formal, too task-oriented, or too pressed for time. A culture's time orientation can reveal how people in that culture communicate. The key is for you to figure it out and then flex your style. In a polychronic time culture, many messages are communicated at once. For example, in Portugal, Lebanon, Ghana, Kenya, Columbia, or Chile, you will see several conversations happening at once in a meeting. Conversation may seem to go in circles and not have a purpose. This should give you a clue that you must take your time with communication. In the monochronic time culture, messages are shared in a linear way with a predictable order. So for example, in Switzerland, Denmark, or the UK, you can predict when the meeting will start, and you can be sure that the group will stick to the agenda. Regardless of where you are, your main goal is to figure out how time is viewed in your new environment. So here are a few time orientation clues. Overall work and life pace. If you have a chance to observe your environment, sit at a public place and just watch people. Are they walking swiftly or are they strolling? Are they lining up for the bus or rushing to the door haphazardly? Are they sitting at a coffee shop? Are they holding to-go cups? Watch people in the work environments. Are people chatting in public places? Do they have headsets typing away at their computers? Is the environment overall noisy or is it pretty quiet? Now, keep in mind that large urban cities may come across as being very monochronic, but don't make assumptions unless you observe more closely. Meeting starts and finishes. Be sure to find out what the norm is on this one. You don't want to offend by showing up too early, or worse, thinking that the meaning culture is relaxed and walking, or logging in too late. Every culture and organization have their own unwritten rules. Be sure to consult a colleague with past experience on this one. Written communication. If you get a chance to glance at a meeting announcement, you will get a sense for the group's time orientation. Are there blocked paragraphs, or do you see bullets or timed agendas? Conciseness and clarity are usually alinear or monochronic time characteristic. Presentations. Polychronic time orientation cultures will not use many slides with content and veer away from them when they exist. You will not hear the typical previews, reviews, smooth transitions that we teach in my US-based business school class. Of course, every company has its own unique time culture, so you have to account for that as well. Some cultures say, "Time is money", and others say, "Time is the best advisor." How people perceive time reflects deeply on their value structure, their life philosophy, and their lifestyle. Learning to tell time in another environment will serve you well.