full vs. positive – Page 2 – understand-culture

The Germans have a legal term called Auskunftspflicht. Auskunft means information. Pflicht means obligation. Auskunftspflicht: the obligation to inform. When Germans persuade, convince, present, sell, the consciously Germans present the full picture: what works and what doesn’t work. Anything less is unprofessional, dishonest, and most certainly not persuasive.

A Latin term

When car salesmen lie

An older video, but very clever.

Auskunftspflicht

Auskunft, information. Pflicht, obligation. Auskunftspflicht. The obligation to inform.

When persuading (presenting, informing, describing), the Germans believe that they have an obligation to present all of the facts. The good, the bad. What works, what doesn’t work.

They do not believe that they should wait until critical questions are raised, exposing the negative or downside of what they are presenting or proposing. Competent, professional and honest are those who forthrightly reveal the less positive.

Are Germans more honest than others? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Who can judge? Not our topic.

If you are presenting to Germans, and they find that you have not forthrightly addressed serious weaknesses in your argument, proposal, concept, solution, they can draw one of two possible conclusions. Either you are not fully competent. You did not identify and address those weaknesses. Or you are well aware of them, do not have a solution, and have therefore attempted to hide, ignore or avoid the discussion.

Neither conclusion reflects positively on that presenter. The German audience is not only not persuaded. Far worse, the presenter has lost credibility. Germans have a shared logic. The presenter should address both the positive and the negative. And not wait for critical questions which tease out the negative. Auskunftspflicht. The obligation to inform.

Bringschuld

When persuading, Germans feel obligated to present the Gesamtbild, the full picture, all of the facts, the pretty as well as the less pretty, what works, what does not.

This is a Bringschuld, literally bring or deliver obligation. The German presenter does not wait until critical questions from the audience pull out or expose the weaknesses of an argument. In Germany it is a sign of competence, professionalism, honesty and integrity to reveal openly the weaknesses of what is being presented.

An attempt to conceal the weaknesses of an argument, offering, concept or solution leaves a German listener with only two possible explanations. The presenter either is not aware of the weaknesses, and is therefore not fully competent, or the presenter is indeed aware but trying to conceal the weaknesses, and therefore dishonest.

Either way the presenter will not persuade the German listener. And worse, the presenter‘s credibility has been damaged severely.