Globalization is creating many exciting challenges for each of us to work through. Communication is one of the most pervasive and immediate.

At TAO we have had to learn how to give sensitive feedback on psychometric tests to people we meet for the 1st time over videoconference or telephone. This process is fraught with difficulty even in a face-to-face situation! One has to manage the paradox of helping a person reflect upon disturbing parts of themselves that are often blind spots and blocks to growth, in a safe nonthreatening manner.

I was sharing notes with a HR head of an Indian company going global and found that she had to do something similar, interview candidates from across the world for the final decision making interview on the phone! Often the candidates do not know English. We both seem to have hit upon a simple way of breaking ice. We find some way of introducing humour in the first few minutes of the conversation. If the other person responds to the humour, it often opens doors to meaningful discussion. In a recent interview of a prospective sales executive from Khazakistan, my friend was conducting the interview through a translator. At the end of the interview, the candidate talked about music and volunteered to sing a song. While every one of the teleconference expected a Khayak folk song, the candidate sang a Hindi film song!

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