Trilingualism called key to international business success

By Shin Sato and Tokiko Oba

Daily Yomiuri Staff Writers

Tetsuyuki Yoneyama is very good at small talk in English — so good, in fact, that it sometimes leads to embarrassment for his wife.

The 56-year-old investor relations expert engages in small talk at business lunches. He also does it over after-dinner tea with his neighbors.

This skill is one sign that the director in charge of business development at Daiwa Investor Relations Co. is a truly international businessman.

Conducting international business successfully requires not only language skills directly related to the job, but also the skill to talk about things unrelated to work and an understanding of the cultures of different countries.

"You need to be a good communicator wherever you are," Yoneyama said. "It's important to speak in plain language, while always thinking about what expressions to use and what to say and what not to say."

"Studying English means learning how to use the language as a tool. What matters is what you do with the tool," he added.

According to Yoneyama, Europeans do not talk about business at a business lunch until coffee has been served. They do not take notes, but instead exchange letters.

A letter Yoneyama received from some European counterparts said they had had a good time at lunch, and "in particular, the mille-feuille was very delicious." Reading this made him recall what they had discussed over dessert, and led to later interactions.

But some of the Japanese he does business with jump right into talk about work, which disappoints Yoneyama greatly.

He has a master's degree in French from Keio University and studied in France. He joined Daiwa Securities Co. in 1981.

He improved his writing skills and business English after he was assigned to write market commentaries in English, with native English speakers sitting next to him and rewriting them every day. He learned English financial terms on the job that were not listed in dictionaries at that time.

His oral communication skills were honed by his experiences abroad.

He has been sent to London four times, covering all of Europe and the Middle East, and has served as head of the Paris office. He moved to Daiwa IR in 1999.

His business partners in Tokyo today are as diverse as his experiences.

Last month in Kita-Aoyama, Minato Ward, Yoneyama joined two other Tokyo-based IR specialists — David Russell, managing director of Trans-Pacific Productions, and Peter Fuchs of MNM Partners K.K.

They kicked off the meeting by talking about hot stocks and shareholders benefits.

The three switched from English to Japanese and back without a break in the pace or tone of the conversation.

The purpose of the meeting was to check the English version of a client's Web site to make sure the messages had been translated properly.

According to U.S.-based National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), investor relations is "a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication between a company, the financial community and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company's securities achieving fair valuation."

NIRI is an association of corporate officers and consultants responsible for investor relations.

Daiwa IR is a subsidiary of the Daiwa Securities group. It offers consulting services on investor relations activities to listed companies and companies planning to be listed in cooperation with other group companies.

For listed companies, the company helps find out who their real shareholders are so clients will be able to approach them and deliver effective targeted messages.

Because foreign investors are key players in the stock market, companies need to disclose information in English.

For example, consultants explain how to conduct road shows, or caravans — information sessions for foreign investors. They also help clients create English versions of company Web sites.

For companies preparing to be listed who do not know much about the capital market, the consultants teach clients what they are supposed to do before and after being listed.

The consultants explain to the managers of client companies how the stock market works, how the clients should manage insider information and what rules they should set on employee shareholding. They also explain what the clients should do in periodic company information sessions.

Knowing the numbers

Many people say you should know about your own country when you talk to people from other lands, but Yoneyama's advice takes that a step further.

"A senior colleague once told me I should be able to explain Japan in numbers," he said. For example, Japanese should be able to tell someone how many kilometers Japan is from Europe; how many kilometers Japan is from its north end to its south end, and how many islands the nation has other than the four main ones.

He said a primary school almanac had been useful to him in finding such information.

To improve language skills, he suggested talking to strangers who have nothing to gain or lose by talking to you.

"If you're the boss, employees won't correct your English. But when you're talking to someone you meet walking down the street, or to your neighbors at a party, they don't hesitate to tell you if they don't understand you. It's good to put yourself in such a situation and struggle through," Yoneyama said.

He also recommended The Daily Yomiuri for young businesspeople and those interested in English.

"Every time I read the stories, I'm reminded how little English I actually know, and I'm happy to be taught something new," Yoneyama said.

Yoneyama's final advice for successful international business communication is to learn a second foreign language.

He himself is trilingual, speaking English and French in addition to Japanese.

He pointed out that people in the European Union are now required to study two foreign languages, so many Europeans will be trilingual in 10 years. Meanwhile, Japan is still working on becoming bilingual.

"It's very useful in business to be able to speak two foreign languages. I can talk to many people at parties and get to know a lot of them," he said. "Multiple languages expand your scope of the world."