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如何接待外國友人
--------------------蘇雄
# How can you entertain your foreign guests:
1. Check out their schedule to see how much time they have staying here.
2. Ask their preferences on food, sightseeing spots, travel pace, etc. Usually they are quite open on what they’d like to do, eat, or see.
3. Try to meet their expectations.
# What’s the appropriate attitude to foreigners when communicating in English?
Try to remember:
1. English is not your native language, so perfection is not essential.
2. Try to relax yourself yet make your point.
3. Treat them like your friends and look at them in the eyes when talking.
4. If you are too nervous, your foreign friends will feel nervous too. Try not to create the tension.
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Lisa ：大家好，歡迎收看挑戰英文Action English
，Lisa會客室。今天的來賓要教大家怎麼做「超級大國民」﹔怎麼幫來訪的外賓做一個很好的東道主。待會再介紹他出來，我們先看他的個人小檔案。
Lisa : 歡迎回到現場。大家看到我們特別來賓的個人小檔案了嗎? 他就是Raymond So蘇雄，蘇先生，我們來介紹他給大家認識。
Raymond : 大家好，非常高興在這裡跟大家分享一下我的經驗。
Lisa : OK, 正如我們剛才所說的，我們今天請到Raymond來，要跟我們介紹一下「怎麼好好地做一個東道主」，因為Raymond在他的整段事業當中，曾經迎接過不少的外賓，然後也招待過自己不少的客戶，當然有一些場合都是用英文的，怎麼樣好好地使用英文?就是這一集主要要談的主題。 So Raymond, what can you tell us about entertaining your guest, either from overseas or from local?
Raymond : In fact, let's concentrate more on the overseas guests. Because the overseas guests, when they come to Taiwan, they're here on business, and after business, most of people would like to see more of Taiwan. And there are certain things that they're most interested about. Usually they want to go out and see things related to Taiwan. They like to see something more cultural. So, whenever they come here, I usually look at their itinerary, and see how much time they have. There are certain business travelers who really pack tight their schedule. So they never have time to go out.
Lisa : Right, fight in and out.
Raymond : Those people would like to spend an afternoon or day in Taiwan, and I ask them first. I usually… That's the most important thing. I think, it's don't never assume people would like what you suggest. So the best thing to do is ask them what they would like to do. Someone likes shopping. Someone would like to go to the museum. Someone would like to go to see the countryside. And different people got different types of requirements. So first thing is to ask them, and then try to tailor-made certain things to meet their expectation.
Lisa : Yes.
Raymond : A lot of people like to go to the museum because we have a very well-known
"National Palace Museum". And then when you tell them of the National Palace Museum, you have to tell them,
"Wow! There are a lot of good things there." And then most of the cases I would try to send someone to go with them, because they may not have enough time to go through everything. So, take them through the few important ones that they would never have to miss. And let them feel great about having seen the great things. So that's an important thing to do.
Lisa : Yeah, so you don't recommend wearing them out. You know, taking them through a long tour, a long visit.
Raymond : Yes, you're right.. Some people like to spend the whole day out, but there are a lot of people who want more leisure, a slower pace.
Lisa : Right.
Raymond : They go to one place, spend quality time there, and then go to another place. So, ask them, and they are all very open. Because, you know, western people they would not be shy about telling you what they want.
Lisa : You're right. And you know, that's exactly, when most people make the mistakes because some of the local people are so enthusiastic about taking their guests around.
Raymond : Yes, right.
Lisa : So sometimes they pack everything into half day or one day, and really make their guests very tired.
Raymond : Yes, hospitality is not over doing it.
Lisa : Right.
Raymond : Because if you take them out of the whole day, they may get so tired. You know, they may not be able to tell you how they feel, and they feel embarrassed to say,
"No". But they would have to go through the torture. And they will leave Taiwan…
Lisa : Without enjoyment.
Raymond : Without enjoyment, yes.
Lisa : Right. 我想Raymond剛跟大家講的，尤其這個建議，你可以先問你的這些朋友、外賓他們想做什麼？有多少的時間？ 要去參觀博物館呢？還是要去shopping購物血拼呢？還是要去看一些文化之旅什麼的。因為每個人有不同的興趣，問了比較好。而且我們也談到說，最好不要因為自己非常的熱心，把人家的行程給排的滿滿的，結果一路就是一直趕啊趕啊，從一個地方趕到另外一個地方，或者是說像Raymond剛才談到的，如果找一個朋友陪著他們這樣子會好一點。因為有時候，即使去故宮博物院，有這麼多寶藏可以看，你也不能夠一次全部看完，就是重點式的會比較好、比較輕鬆。Also, if they want, they can go back again anytime.
Raymond : Yes, right. Once they have been there, they have seen the good ones. And if they're interested, they can always go back again.
Lisa : Even on their own.
Raymond : Oh, yeah, right. The other thing that we have to be very careful when you receive an overseas guest is diet and food.
Lisa : Oh, right.
Raymond : We are so used to eating Chinese food. People coming to Taiwan, they really want to taste the very good a lot of Chinese food here. But don't over do it. And don't assume that they like the same thing as you do. We usually serve sea cucumbers. Some real things like Cantonese dimsum lunch. If you know that these people are not that cross-culture, don't order
"chicken feet". That will scare them often.
Lisa : Right.
Raymond : And even you like it so much, don't eat in front of them because they will turn around.
Lisa : Their appetite will just be gone. 在這點Raymond也是提到要大家特別注意，有時候，我們好喜歡自己的中國菜，結果也要逼人家吃，或者說有一些很奇怪的東西，像Raymond剛講那個「鳳爪」、「雞爪」這種東西，可能其實現在很多遊走國際的外國人士看過，不過呢，最好還是不要輕易嘗試。你就算不逼他吃，自己吃，可能看的人家也心驚肉跳的。我自己就有一個這樣子的經驗。最近的一次會議，主辦單位準備了便當lunchbox給外國人，然後裡面有一個就一直在那邊蠕動的東西，就是那個糯米做的點心，當然客家點心大家都很喜歡，可是對於那個不懂的、不知道的人，有一個老外吃那東西差點嗆死，嗆在那個喉嚨裡面。這裡面有很多很可怕的，比方說像苦瓜、像一些真的不知名的東西、海蔘，像Raymond剛剛所講的，sea cucumber這種東西就真的是最好不要輕易嘗試。我想在這一點上，Raymond倒是提供我們很多的參考。待會我們休息一下，回來的時候，我們再跟Raymond繼續聊一些「做很好的一個主人，要注意一些什麼事情」。 |
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Lisa ：
歡迎回到挑戰英文Action English的現場。今天特別來賓是在做 「東道主」﹔就是「招待外賓」方面非常有經驗、非常有心得的Raymond蘇雄，蘇先生。他來告訴我們應該注意的一些事情，因為即使你招待的並不是什麼好像很大人物那一類的外賓，但是外國友人來到台灣，總是希望他能夠賓至如歸。 What else can you tell us, Raymond, in your years of years of experience?
Raymond : The other thing you got to do is to keep a good sense of humor. When you take people around, you would just telling everybody that in Taiwan there are still a lot of things that not perfect yet, and there are a lot of problems which we get so used to it. The people may not be aware of whether they will get a shock, like
"he traffic". I still remember, now that the traffic is much better, I still remember like ten years ago when people come to Taiwan, they were shocked by these scooters, motorcycles going, skipping lanes, zigzagging. And then taxis or cars making U-Turns without…
Lisa : Anywhere they want.
Raymond : Yeah, without observing any driving code. So people get so scared in the car, and they called them "code type" taxi. So you got to have sense of humor. When you see them doing that, you tried to make fun of like, the traffic, and turn it into positive thing. One very good example that I have is I once had guest who got so scared.
"How come you let these people drive like this in Taipei?" and I said,
"Well, this is free China. You are free to do what you want. You can drive freely in
Taiwan." So you got to have that sense of humor. Turn it around into something that everybody is got there, giving a laugh.
Lisa : What about garbage problem? You know, they are dealing with it now but is still found to be more messy city than other cosmopolitans, such as Paris, of course, you know, London.
Raymond : Well, the garbage problem is something that still difficult to handle. Usually, the foreigners see the way we treat garbage, they will still also have a very surprising look in their face. Then I will tell them we Chinese produce too much garbage, and it takes time to take care of it and fix it. So we're still waiting for a good solution. We'll start to have a conversation on how different countries treat garbage and how do people take care of these problems in their hometown or home country. So, my best policy is to try to divert these negative things into something like a discussion, or even become a way to get suggestions from these foreign friends. So, they did feel like they are here in Taiwan to contribute to the well-being of everybody in Taiwan. So they even feel good about it.
Lisa : Raymond剛剛提供兩個非常好的策略，一個就是在講交通混亂的狀況的時候，用一點幽默感，然後就開了個玩笑。Raymond這個玩笑免費提供給大家，free, free of charge,
就是說如果外國人很緊張，巴著那個車子，比方計程車，看到這麼多的摩托車這樣跑來跑去，然後到處都是可以隨時轉這個方向、轉那個方向，你倒是可以說這個就是free China「自由中國」。你如果真的是去一個不自由的地方，可能就看不到這種景象了。這是一個策略，就是「幽默感的應用」。另外我們談到，如果他說台北或高雄或哪裏垃圾太多的話，Raymond倒是蠻誠實的說，這個沒有辦法去唬過去。所以除了承認我們的確垃圾必須要減量，我們要看馬市長這一套能不能夠行的通，然後另外你可以從承認，跟他們在聊天的過程中，他們自然就會說，比方說 : 「你們的這個城市怎麼樣去處理垃圾問題」，又可以導入另外一個很豐富的一個討論，而且從此，像外國朋友可能會覺得他可以做一點建議，把他們那邊的經驗提供給我們，這樣他又覺得對這個地方有多一份的好感、多一份的親切感，所以你看到沒有，Raymond是非常厲害的，能夠去用幽默感去唬過的就唬，如果不能的話，也能夠導入另外一個討論的空間。What other issues, say you ever met, you know, could be embarrassing but still safe for the day?
Raymond : Well, to a lot of foreign friends, when they come to Taiwan, another thing that they don't get used to is the way that we speak English. Because in Taiwan not many people speak very good English, at the same time because of historical reasons, whenever you see a white-skinned person, the westerner, you start to get nervous. We start to get… You don't know what you should do. So a lot of people get too nervous that they will…
Lisa : Make fun of themselves.
Raymond : Yeah, they make mistakes and they get so embarrassed. And these things add one to each other. So my suggestion actually is to be free and feel easy when you see a western friend. Treat them as any other Chinese friend. Treat them as another human being. Look at them equal and eye to eye. And then you will feel at ease. Then you talk freely. You can act in your normal way and you don't get nervous. And in that respect your friend, your foreign visitor can actually feel much better. Because once he sees that you're very nervous, he sees that you don't really know what to do, he himself gets nervous also. And he would have to try to calm you down, and he may not be able to talk to you straight on the business. So the suggestion is to calm down, think of yourself as at the equal position as your foreign partner or friend. And then be yourself, relax and be yourself.
Lisa : Raymond給的建議真的是非常好，其實不只是怎麼樣去接待你的外國朋友，甚至在你使用英文的時候，應該都有這樣子的態度，就是，把他當作一個對等的、互相尊重的一個個體，那這樣子你冷靜下來，就算你的英文很破 ﹔就算它很有限制，不是可以說這麼多，但是在有限的空間裡面，還是可以傳達彼此之間的這種信任關係，或建立一種友誼。我們還會回來繼續跟Raymond來聊，我們先休息一下。 |
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Lisa ： 歡迎大家回到Action English挑戰英文的現場。今天跟我們來聊天的特別來賓是Raymond蘇雄，蘇先生。Raymond剛才提供了非常多建設性的想法，我們在做一個東道主﹔我們在做主人，怎麼招待客人的時候，尤其是使用到英文接待外賓的時候，要注意的一些事情。當然，Raymond提的建議都是非常實際，我們在現實生活裡面幾乎都可以用到的，希望大家能夠好好的把握。And Raymond, what else you want to tell us, for instance, some of the language jokes, communication, misunderstanding, misinterpretations that you ever witness?
Raymond : Well, I saw too many trouble. I think I may not be able to recall any one of them. In most of the cases what I saw as the most embarrassing is a situation when a foreign friend has a very strong accent. You know, there're people has very strong accent.
Lisa : They're coming from Ireland, or Australia.
Raymond : And they usually… If they come to Asia a lot, and they have been working or interacting with Asians a lot. they know that when they come to Asia they have to speak slower but they have to speak much more clearer. But if they're new to Asia, they get excited then they will go bla-bla-bla as the native speaking way. And at that time use a lot of slang. You just sit there. You really don't understand a word that they say because the accent was so strong. So under those circumstances, my suggestion is that you definitely got to be honest. Don't pretend that you understand everything. First of all is very natural, it's a hundred percent acceptable that you can not understand what he's saying because English is not our mother tongue. He will be much happy if he can speak Chinese. A lot foreign friends always tell me,
"Oh, Raymond, you say your English is not good enough, but I envy you so much because you can already speak English. I can't speak a word of
Chinese." So think about that and don't worry about telling him or letting him know that you don't understand what he's saying. So, if he really gets excited, you just tell him,
"Hey, John, I'm sorry. You are so excited and you're talking real
English." Making him humor, because real English, "These are the real English that I don't know, can you repeat
it?" and make it fun for him to repeat it. And don't embarrass yourself. And don't embarrass him. A good thing you should try to practice.
Lisa : Flattery will get you everywhere and anywhere. Raymond剛才跟我們講了一個，我想所有人大概都能夠想像或已經碰到過的一種情況，因為我們的這些外賓，有時候他來自澳洲，有時候來自愛爾蘭，有時候來自印度，如果你有接觸過這些地方的人你就知道，他們的英文跟你熟悉的「美式英語」的話，或者「英式英語」是完全不同的，所以當你的朋友又很熱情、他又很開心你招待的很好的時候，他反而會越講越快，然後又土語啦、俚語啦、俗語什麼都出來了。Raymond就是建議大家，如果你碰到這種狀況，你就不要客氣，就是用一種非常正常的方法來表達說 : 「你剛講什麼，你可能需要再重複」。不過Raymond非常技巧地教大家，就是說「你講的英文實在是真正的英文、太好的英文，所以我沒有辦法一下子聽懂」，那麼這樣也不傷害他、也不傷害自己。因為我想這一點相當重要，因為不傷害別人，才讓他有興趣繼續跟你講話﹔那不傷害自己，我覺得雖然說很少人談到，可這個也很重要，因為你如果是因為聽不懂而受到傷害的話，這樣子可能對這個語言的害怕就會增加了，其實是不利於你繼續從事這種語言的交流。So, Raymond, what other points to make in situation like this? Meeting a foreign friend language wise or non-language wise.
Raymond : I think there's something related to non English. You know, language is something important but another thing is the usual habit of the foreign friends. Because we come from different cultural background, there are different people from different countries with different habits. So you have to understand the type of habit does the other person has. So you don't get irritated by what they are doing, vice versa you won't irritate them by doing something that they do not like.
Lisa : Especially when you do it innocently. You don't mean it.
Raymond : That's right. So understand the culture, the particular person, and the way they usually do certain things in their own country. Do some homework before you receive your friend. And in business or even in friendly terms, if you're receiving your friend, try to find out more about this person. Like, for instance, I still remember our big boss, the chairman of the WPP group, when he comes to Taiwan, we found out from his secretary what he eats and what he doesn't eat first.
Lisa : Really? He has like and dislike?
Raymond : Yes, he doesn't like shellfish. So, if you take him to seafood dinner and you ordered all these seafood for him, he would be embarrassed. He couldn't eat it. And my future will be like ... So, these are things you got do or some good preparation will to find out more about this person, his like and dislike, his habits so you can make him feel very much at home. If a person feels at home, then he'll be enjoying his trip.
Lisa : If I can add to that even ask him when he gets here, probably that will be a policy.
Raymond : Whenever you're treating people to dinner, the first thing you do before you order food is to ask him.
"Is there anything you eat or is there anything you don't
eat?", "Chili stuff, how the spicy you want?" Ask, be open and get yourself prepared good.
Lisa : Raymond剛才介紹就是，他把他個人的秘訣都透露出來，招待大老闆，他們的大老闆從總部來，那麼就從大老闆的秘書那邊就了解到他並不喜歡海鮮，就是那種甲殼類的東西。想想看，如果他來台灣，大概所有台灣人第一個直覺都是「台灣的海鮮很好，我們一定要把朋友帶到海鮮餐廳」、「那也是最貴，這樣子是最好的招待」，結果可能是跟你想的剛好相反。Raymond剛開了一個玩笑，不曉得大家聽到了沒有，如果說他真的帶他去海鮮餐廳的話，那麼不是前途就茫茫了嗎?所以大家可以了解到，Raymond, all through the programs been using his sense of humor, so what do you recommend people do to cultivate their sense of humor, anyhow?
Raymond : Sense of humor to a certain extent comes from exposure. You know, you have to be able to meet a lot of different people. You know, different people they with different personalities, and the way that they treat others, and knowing more people will help you develop the sense of humor. And just relax, be yourself. Everybody got a good sense of humor. It's just that you've been controlling it. Most of people suppress themselves and make fun of their way. The best sense of humor is make fun of yourself.
Lisa : Right, not others. Though some people do it the other way around.
Lisa : OK. 今天Raymond跟我們分享了很多，真的是連我自己都沒聽過的一些他的秘訣，非常高興我們的特別來賓能夠這麼樣坦然、開誠佈公地把他的秘訣分享給大家。非常謝謝Raymond跟我們聊了那麼久，也謝謝大家的收看，不要忘了下次一定要準時再收看我們的Action English挑戰英文這個節目。Bye!
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