If your company or business is looking to expand in Asia, specifically, in China, then it will help to learn the most common language there – Mandarin Chinese.
Is it necessary? Definitely not. You can still be able to strike partnerships and deals with Chinese companies if you only speak English.
Even in China, and other countries like India, the preferred languages of big businesses is still the English language. There are also a lot of English-speaking workers who are currently employed in China.
But, the thing is, you are severely limiting your opportunities if you don’t even bother taking a simple Chinese language course. Try and get a better grasp of their language and culture!
Chinese is not as hard to learn as most people believe
Learning Chinese isn’t easy. At the same time, it’s not as challenging as most people believe.
Though it is true that learning Chinese is not natural for a lot of people, it is not why it’s difficult to pick it up.
To be a fluent Chinese speaker, you’re easily looking at a year’s worth of your time invested in learning the language. To be able to read, speak, and write the language fluently, you should be prepared to spend at least two to four years of your life trying to master the language.
This is not necessary but more advantageous for you if you want to do business with Chinese companies frequently.
You need to invest in your time, effort, and money when learning another language. However, it is worth it!
While it’s true that Chinese has yet to achieve the same status of English (and it probably never will), the possibility of encountering a Chinese word, phrase, or working with a Chinese company grows by the day. Additionally, you don’t even have to fly to China to find a Chinese company that you could potentially land as a client or partner.
A small investment in a business Chinese course can go a long way into improving your business and career opportunities. It could also just help in opening yourself up to more relationship possibilities.
Start learning Chinese mandarin
When it comes to doing business, the Chinese value respect and effort more than anything else. Even if you’re not fluent in Chinese Mandarin yet, they’ll appreciate the time you spent trying to learn their language and culture, plus respect you more for it.
Even if you don’t plan on spending a considerable amount of time landing deals and partnerships or working with Chinese companies, you can still benefit a lot from taking up a Chinese business course.
At the very least, you’ll be opening yourself and your business up to all sorts of possibilities.
Personally, learning Mandarin is also just as rewarding as trying to master any other skill.
Enjoy the sense of accomplishment when being able to speak another language as fluently as your native tongue. This satisfaction is definitely reason enough to put in the effort and actually learn the language.
