If you study or experience Japanese culture, it’s only a matter of time before you come across the concept of tatemae, the feelings/attitude that one projects to the public. Tatemae may or may not conflict with one’s honne, or real feelings. Whether or not one’s tatemae should match one’s honne is a constant source of debate. Luckily, we’re not going to go into that here. Continue reading
Category Archives: Building Confidence
Nothing Bad Is Going to Happen
Thanks to a training session, I recently found myself on the other side of the public-speaking coin: in the audience. As I watched Japanese salespeople give presentations in English, I observed various levels of pre-presentation anxiety. Despite that fact, each presenter made successful speeches. Nothing went wrong.