English - The Universal Language?

After spending about a week each in Spain, France and Italy, it was a comfort to land in Newark, NJ yesterday and hear the sweet sound of voices. English speaking ones. Though my Spanish is okay and Italian is like Spanish (some vocab at least), trying to communicate in another language is difficult! And attempting to speak French, well that's just a whole other story. However, speaking another language can be extremely helpful in the business world, particularly in the consulting industry, where multinational firms would love to have bilingual professionals as one of their assets.

But you also have to be careful when trying to speak another language. Though you might know the right vocabulary, context is key. In Spain we learned that using the wrong vocabulary to say that you are warm temperature-wise can give a very wrong impression. I'm not sure how well telling your boss you are hot for him would go over with upper management.

And don't assume that everyone does or does not speak English. You could be talking in English thinking those around you can't understand, but beware, more people know English than you think! On the other hand, don't expect everyone to know English. If you're in their country maybe you should try speaking their language. Asking someone if they speak English before conversing with them only perpetuates the idea that Americans think they rule the world. The field of business may be universal, but English is not. Be sure to make sure you know what your getting yourself into when traveling abroad to a client!