Today my "shop talk" is a bit embarrassing.
I really struggle making business related phone calls. The main issue is the language barrier. I live in Germany and my business is based out of Germany, however I am not a native German speaker. I have to speak in german when I am making business calls, yikes.
-First of all, it is a struggle to even get myself to make the call. Calls are the one thing I put off as long as possible, when it comes to running my shop.
-During the call, the trick is understanding and not sounding incompetent. I am just a baby business owner and I have only lived in Germany for two years now. Those two things, make it tricky during business calls in German. I start sweating pretty much instantly.
-The final tricky bit is, recalling what we discussed in the conversation, once it is over. While I am speaking to the person, I am so focused on understanding, that there is little that sticks after I hang up the receiver. I have learned now, that I have to take notes during the conversation so that I can recall what was discussed. Otherwise, I have to call back and that is just double hard to do.
In your job what do you put off as long as possible?
Anna
Hard to believe, Anna. Your German was already brilliant after just a few months in Germany! But I know exactly what you mean - my first days in Ireland were horrible when I had to take all these business calls. I remember me saying "Can you spell that, please?" while I was taking notes all the time :D
ReplyDeleteyou are amazing for even attempting that! pure bravery!
ReplyDeleteThank you cards are something I don't intentionally put off, but they often don't go out as quickly as I would like to people who deserve them because I am often so focused on work. One thing about my business that I don't want to neglect is making sure my clients and the people I work with know how thankful I am for them.