Communicating Internationally: Interview with Ian McMaster

S & B: Ian, you're giving a talk at this year's conference on the topic of "Communicating Internationally in English". That sounds very general. What exactly are you going to be talking about?

Ian McMaster: You're right, it does sound general and, in a sense, that is deliberate. But at the same time, it's false! Let me go back a step to explain that. Our talk will look at some of the ideas in a book of the same title published earlier this year by York Associates in cooperation with Business Spotlight. The book is based on a series of articles written by Bob Dignen for the business skills section of our magazine.

And the message is indeed both general and specific. On the one hand, we're looking at some of the general principles of effective communication that underlie business English tasks such as writing emails, giving presentations, taking part in meetings or making small talk with business partners. So that's the general part. But on the other hand, we are arguing that business communication is always context-specific. In other words, behaving the same way with everyone and in every situation simply won't work. It won't be effective. You always have to adapt to the specific country, corporate and - most importantly - personal cultures of the people you are dealing with.

S & B: So, you're talking about the way that business English teaching has changed or needs to change?

Ian McMaster: Exactly. Some of the change has already taken place because business English trainers know that their clients need to focus on effective communication rather than spending - or, rather, wasting - time on details of grammar or even, in some cases, pronunciation. So, although I find many of the ideas in the discussions about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) interesting, much of the business English teaching community in Europe is ahead of the curve. They are already doing the things that ELF researchers suggest - concentrating on effective communication rather than linguistic accuracy.

At the same time, there is still often a tendency to look at each of these communicative tasks - writing, giving presentations, telephoning etc - separately, rather than discussing the underlying principles and the aims of communication. For example, the aim of a presentation is not to give a presentation. It is to inform or persuade or build rapport. These are the sorts of dimensions that we have been looking at in Business Spotlight with Bob Dignen over the past ten years - also dimensions such as managing conflict, decision-making or building trust. And we think that these dimensions need looking at more closely than in the past. Some trainers and publishers are already doing so, but there is further to go.

S & B: So the "generic interpersonal skills" that you mention in your abstract are things like the ability to build trust, resolve conflict and so on?

Ian McMaster: That's right. We are trying to move people away from thinking about the speech acts and towards thinking about the aims of those acts. For example, the ability to build rapport is absolutely fundamental to doing business. And this is much more than simply engaging in small talk with business partners or socializing with them. It involves the whole way you relate to others in your business dealings. Do you communicate trustworthiness, empathy, competence, understanding and so on?

Also, do you focus on the specific needs and preferences of the individuals you are communicating with? A good example here is email. Before sending each email, do you think about the person you are writing to and what style of communication they would prefer: direct/indirect, detailed/short etc? Most people don't. They often impose their own preferred style on others. But it is not enough simply to "do unto others as you would like them to do unto you". They may have totally different preferences.

S & B: Finally, what role can new technologies play in helping people to develop these interpersonal skills?

Ian McMaster: Well, I think we are in a very interesting - and uncertain - phase concerning the use of technology for language learning. There have been too many over-hyped claims in the past, and the danger is that people react against technology and new forms of learning and teaching. This would be disastrous. What we have to do is to find the optimal ways of integrating technology - and the many opportunities that new media offer - into teaching and learning schedules.

And, here too, we always have to bear individual preferences in mind. I think that is key lesson that we have learned over the past ten years at Business Spotlight. Learner preferences vary enormously and so publishers and training organisations have to offer a wide range of ways to learn and ultimately allow learners to make their choices.

In their pre-conference workshop, my colleagues Deborah Capras and Helen Strong will be looking at developments in mobile learning, and how to integrate it into teaching. And, of course, we are very lucky this year to have Russell Stannard as one of the keynote speakers. I have heard Russell talk before and am sure he will be a great success at the conference because he has so many practical and simple ideas about how to build technology into teaching.

So, to answer your question, yes, new technologies and media can certainly play a role in developing a wide range of skills - and the potential is likely to increase. At the same time, face-to-face training (and, increasingly, coaching) is still essential if you really want to hone the sorts of interpersonal skills we're talking about.

Mr McMaster, many thanks for your time!

September 2011