Learning a new language
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Simon Young learns about the Chinese language (well, one of them) and culture, and remembers his early days in social media. There are quite a few parallels!
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In December, Marie and I will fly off to Shanghai to present a two-day workshop on Social Media for multinationals.
The workshop will be in English, of course, but it always helps to understand the language of the place you're going to - even just a bit. As Confucius said, "He who does not understand words is incapable of understanding men."
So we're on a journey of discovery, not only of the language with its hard-to-distinguish consonants and its many types of vowels, but of the culture with all its richness and complexity.
The irony is, I've been preparing for this journey for a long time. Knowing that China was going to be a significant world power in the 21st century, I started reading books on China about five years ago.
I read about the current situation. I read about doing business in China. I read about Chinese history (that was a big book!). I read about freedom of religion and human rights abuses. And I started to read about the language - but didn't get very far.
What good have those books done for me? They've given me a lot of knowledge. But knowledge can be a hindrance as well as a help. Head knowledge can easily turn into false confidence, which can then lead to missteps.
So, what's the difference between five years of reading books, and a few months of lessons?
- Deadline. We have a date that we're working towards, and an expectation of how good we want to be by then.
- The personal touch. Not only do I have lots of books, I have iPhone apps as well. But none of these has been as effective as a real live person, taking us through the absolute basics, and giving us feedback on our progress.
- Focus. We work in the heart of Auckland city, on one of the most Asian streets in the whole CBD. We've been here for three years, and yet we haven't realised the opportunities there are to learn and practice mandarin in our interactions with restaurant and cafe owners. Actively seeking those opportunities has made us deliberately more outgoing and willing to try new things, because we have a reason to do so.
- Consider your motivation. We're highly motivated to learn because we have a deadline. What's your compelling reason for learning more about social media?
Sometimes it's hard to know because it's an unknown. Here are a few things that might motivate you: increasing your network, meeting new people, getting your message across, taking ownership of your career, cutting marketing costs, connecting with like-minded people. Those are just a few.
- Embrace vulnerability. This learning experience has been humbling, because I have needed to ask so many people for help, even for little things.
That's a good thing, because (if you ask nicely, of course) you're also building relationships. Also consider what you can bring to that relationship.
- Find your learning style. My personal style is impatient and impulsive. Our teacher is methodical and structured. Rather than fighting that, I'm learning to supplement the structure with the "crazy full immersion" way that I learn. I'm making the two styles work together, rather than having to choose between them.
With social media, wild experimentation is encouraged (just do it on your own behalf first, not your company!) Try new things, own up to your mistakes, learn and have fun.
- Enjoy every success. In a way, this is just like being a kid again. When you made your first step, did your parents say, "come on, we wanted you to run?" No, they praised you and encouraged you with each success. If you have an encouraging teacher, great. If not, then encourage yourself!