Communication challenges facing a consultant to the client organization

Communicating with clients can be challenging in consulting work as a consultant needs to spend long times at client premises and dealing with multiple stakeholders and usually consulting is done in different countries and that is how a consultant will be exposed to different cultures which may be different and challenging while dealing with.

If you have a client where they live in different time-zone it is important to ask about a suitable time to have a conference call and not to consider your time zone only. Also, client religious holidays and prayer times needs to be considered during communication as this will impact how the clients perceive you in respecting his culture which directly impacts your relationship.

Depending on the culture of your client the selection the meeting venue is different some cultures prefer casual venues while having food while others will prefer a quiet place especially if the language is different. Depending on the client the convenient way of communication will differ in case the client speaks a different language than yours they will be more comfortable having discussions in quite place , you should speak slowly to ensure he is not missing your words , avoid using local dialect as this may not make your client comfortable

Non-verbal communication impacts how the client perceives the relationship, for example, telling jokes may not be appropriate in some cultures or may not be understood, physical contact like kissing is ok for some cultures while some cultures may not accept it.

So it is important before engaging with your client to study the culture you are going to work in and showing the client how you are aware of their culture and considerations also for example learning few native words from your client to use as ice breaker will be of a very positive impact and show how you admire the culture and your client.