Persuasion Archives - Page 13 of 18

Avoid using I

The Germans avoid using the word I. Whether in letters, postcards or emails, a sentence should never begin with I. Germans prefer to use either indirect speech or the passive form.

Especially common in German is the use of the word man or one. Germans believe that they should not speak too much about, or directly refer to themselves. To place yourself in the middle of attention is considered to be self-centered, not objective, and therefore not persuasive.

There is a German figure of speech: Der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst, literally meaning the donkey always names itself first. German children are taught to say: Hans und ich … instead of Ich und Hans. Hans and I, instead of I and Hans.

German schools teach their pupils to remain analytical, objective and to leave themselves as individuals out of the discussion. Textbooks explicitly avoid the word Ich, instead recommending: “The logical conclusion follows, that …”. Or “From based on the presented arguments, one could draw the conclusion, that …”. Or “It should be noted, that …”.

Fehlervermeidung

Fehlervermeidung, literally mistake avoidance, is central to German thinking, where progress is often understood as the absence of regression. Germans prefer to not undertake action which could lead to mistakes. “Get it right the first time” could be their motto. Moving ahead in one’s career is often based on making fewer mistakes than other colleagues.

For many years a large department store chain used the slogan “Good is not good enough for us.” German companies expect near error-free work from their people.

The Stiftung Warentest, literally Foundation for Product Testing, established in 1964, enjoys a very high level of trust and prestige among the German population. The foundation rigorously tests products and services, providing their results in monthly print and on-line publications.

Fault-finders

Gabor Steingart, the Editor-in-Chief of the Handelsblatt, was quoted in June 2015 as stating that Bayer AG is Germany’s most valuable blue chip company. Its shareholders are singing Bayer chief executive Marijn Dekkers’ praises.

However, anyone who wants to play devil’s advocate can find enough ammunition in their financial statements. Bayer may be profitable, but German software giant SAP and chemical company Merck are more so. And Bayer’s net financial debt tripled within a year.

Steingart said that German journalists can’t help but look for flaws. He quoted Stefan Aust, his ex-boss at news magazine Der Spiegel, as saying time and again: What we are more than anything is fault-finders.

“Problem”

Middle English probleme, from Latin problema, from Greek problēma. Literally, obstacle. From proballein to throw forward. As in problem as a difficult situation.

The term Problem – problem – has in German a second meaning: topic or subject. Because Germans speak English as a foreign language they often use the term problem when referring simply to a topic or subject, and not to a difficult situation.

This leads to a misperception that they are overly problem-oriented, even negative, pessimistic, destructive. Language can be very tricky, especially when it is not your native tongue.

“Academics don’t like journalists“

It’s certainly a cliché in Germany to say that academics don’t like journalists. German universities are no longer just ivory towers of knowledge, for degree programs in Wissenschaftsjournalismus – literally academic-journalism – are helping the broader public to understand complex academic and scientific material.

More and more academics, including those from the natural sciences, are teaming up with journalists not only to communicate their findings, but also to gain public relations value for their themselves and their work.

Nonetheless, there are many academics who cringe at thought of being interviewed by journalists. They find it painful to hear from journalists that their work needs to be communicated publikumsgerecht – understandable for the public, for the “man on the street.”

For the academic, for the scientist, this can only mean dumbing down. They fear that the complexity will be so oversimplified that the public will not understand the overall message, its interconnections and mutual interdependencies.

Which is why German academics will always preface their statements with: “If put in a simplified way, the ….” or “In reality it is far more complex than this, but ….”

Sich bewähren

sich bewähren means to prove one‘s worth or value, to be reliable, to have worked. From Middle High German meaning to turn out to be true, right, correct.

In Germany there is no higher testament to quality than something which has proven itself over time. Das hat sich bewährt, that has proven itself, is very persuasive to German ears. Over generations, decades, even centuries. Solid, known, established, predictable, tested.

In German literature and movies, the harking back to family, tradition, home region is a constant theme. The ideal, idyllic world is to be protected against the corrupting forces of modernity.

German companies, time and again, advertise their solidity, quality, reliability by stating their longevity and tradition: Established 1885. Above the entrance doors of German Fachwerkäuser – half-timbered houses traditional in the Middle Ages, also called gingerbread houses – one can read Erbaut 1375.

Fehlerkultur

Fehlerkultur – literally failure-culture – is defined by sociologists as the way in which societies react to failure (mistakes) and to those who commit them. A German psychologist took a closer look at Fehlerkultur within German companies.

In the past, innovation in Germany, he wrote, was the product of a long collective decision making process. The great inventions of the Industrial Revolution in Germany were very seldom the result of an individual genius, but instead the achievement of groups of men and women.

Problems (mistakes, errors, failures) were identified, analyzed and solved collectively, as a group. The final product was ausgereift – technically mature, well-engineered, sophisticated. American-styled “trial and error” does not exist in German thinking, which is why there is no accurate German translation for it.

The negative side of this German national-cultural strength is that a systematic, perfection-oriented group approach to solving problems (to innovation) requires patience and time. And time is not always offorded by today’s rapid market developments.

It is in such circumstances, according to the study, that the Germans inclination to blame those who take risks and inevitably make mistakes comes stronger into play.

Mistakes are deemed almost as a personal and professional transgression which demand being exposed, and the perpetrator punished. This heightens even more the innate German fear of commiting errors, which in turn stymies creative thinking.

Problematisieren

To one degree or another you will find in every German a Schwachstellenanalytiker (schwach, weak + stellen, point + analytiker, analyst). A person focused on what doesn’t work, doesn’t make sense, isn’t logical, isn’t optimal.

Weak point analysis aims to avoid errors. And in Germany avoiding errors is often the equivalent of scoring victories. Germans are precision-oriented, in their language, thinking, and work methods. Their products are technically precise. To be precise is to be exact and refined.

The German Schwachstellenanalytiker has a highly developed Problembewusstsein, a problem-consciousness or -awareness. In fact, one can get the impression that Germans have a special relationship with problems, almost a love affair, an obsession.

Part of this impression has to do with language. The German word for problem is Problem, and it has two meanings: subject, topic, what is being discussed; as well as difficulty, dilemma, something to be solved or rectified. Depending on their level of proficiency in English, Germans may use problem in both situations, giving the impression that almost every subject discussed with Germans is a difficulty, dilemma or weak point.

But, perhaps there are legitimate reasons for Germans to have a special relationship with problems. Isn’t any form of progress based on correcting mistakes, refining imperfections, improving on what already works, never being satisfied?

Germans are difficult to satisfy, impress, persuade. Unless, of course, you demonstrate the ability to uncover, define, pull apart and improve on the imperfect. Perhaps German Schwachstellenanalytiker, with their Problembewusstsein, are the true optimists among us, hoping and striving constantly for what could be better.

Perhaps. As long as they don’t confuse problematisieren (endlessly discussing and debating what the problem is) with Probleme lösen (actually solving the problem).

Schwachstellenanalytiker

Germans, especially those in technical fields, are born Schwachstellenanalytiker or weak point analysts. They actively seek out gaps, contradictions, imperfections. Problem erkannt, Gefahr gebannt – a German figure of speech – translates literally into “problem recognized, danger averted.”

The quality assurance departments in German companies test product prototypes against demanding, systematic standards, searching for any and all types of imperfections. German perfectionism is reflected in their stringent consumer protection laws, making companies liable for problems caused by their products.

Turned on its head

The Germans are criticized for “thinking things to death”, for overanalyzing. Deep analysis has a long and honored tradition in Germany, however. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, just as one example, wanted to turn Hegel’s philosophy “on its head.”

It is the goal of all great thinkers to explain reality as it is, and not the other way around, to force reality into their theories. All new situations and phenomena should be explainable, at a minimum placed in some logical perspective.

Thinking in systems, in connections and in mutual interdependencies is a red thread (a constant theme) in German philosophy, from Kant to Hegel to Max Weber on to Karl Popper and others of today. It is stressed in schools and universities in all subject areas.