Tim, you’re a bit slow…
In the office, I received some light-hearted feedback that I
talk a bit slow. After wrapping up a
meeting early, I claimed credit by saying, “I talked fast.” The response was that it was probably the
other person that talked fast. I felt a
little defensive. It’s not that I’m
dim-witted. I’m just thoughtful and
contemplative when I express myself, or something along those lines.
Today I sat in on a meeting in which I was the only
foreigner. I didn’t play much of a role
in the meeting, but they spoke English for my benefit. Listening to the cadence of the exchange
among the Chinese was enlightening. The
speed was on fast-forward, only the pitch was not Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks high.
It was like a two-minute conference that had to cover 30 minutes of
information. But the countenance and
expression was not hurried at all; somehow it was conversational. Rapid fire conversational. It was then that I had to concede that the
Chinese are just fast talkers. The
Cantonese is fast, but that’s hard to appreciate because I don’t understand
anyway.
I’ve thought about the reason I haven’t noticed my speaking
disability before. I think when people
speak to me one on one, they are actually slowing down so I can
comprehend. (My note taking capabilities
are even slower than my speaking abilities and sometimes they will pause until
I quit writing. They are gracious enough
to not get some tea while they wait.)
There are a few other foreigners in the office, but to my knowledge they
are all British. While the British are
also slow in speech, I have to admit that they are probably a little faster than
me – I’m sure for the Chinese, it’s still like listening to Eeyore talk. What I wouldn’t give for an expat from
Mississippi in the office for a favorable comparison.
No comments:
Post a Comment