Hello Johor Bahru

I made a day trip to Johor Bahru to conduct training for a group of company directors and business owners. One thing that I had not anticipated was I conducted the whole session in Chinese. The session was booked a few months ago and I was asked to conduct the session in English. All my materials were prepared in English - the slides, the handouts, the case studies, the activities. I did my rehearsals in English. On the day itself before my session started, I noticed the attendees were all speaking Mandarin privately, despite presentations being in English. So right before my session started, I asked whether they would be more comfortable if I did the session in Mandarin.

Now that might not have been a good idea. Although I am a native speaker, I had not conducted this particular training in Mandarin before. All my preparation had been in English. This was like asking Jacky Cheung to change all the songs five minutes before the concert starts. He probably can do it but it will likely be disruptive. Was I going to shoot myself in the foot?

The group said yes, let's do it in Mandarin. They explained that normally they had non-Mandarin-speaking attendees. It was coincidence that all present that day were Mandarin-speaking. So okay, here we go. I certainly stumbled over a few terms and what the best Chinese equivalents would be. However the overall session was much more impactful and engaging. The attendees eagerly opened up to discuss issues they faced. We had deep and meaningful discussions on the topic. I had a great connection with the audience. I could deliver the messages and concepts powerfully.

In the end it's about doing what's best for your clients through understanding their needs. Some risks are worth taking and some prices worth paying, when you can give the best value to your customers.