Vietnam: Communication

In Vietnam, for most Westerners, communicating in business so people understand your intentions, takes great awareness because of the significant differences in communication styles.

Misreading the intentions of a message can ruin collaboration, business deals, and relationships.

So, in a Vietnamese context…

• How do you communicate in general?
• How do you express opinions and disagreements?
• How do you communicate positive and negative feedback?
• How do you facilitate open, constructive communication and feedback in teamwork?

Vietnamese communication style is indirect and layered. You do not say everything you want to say but leave some space. Messages are often implied, and not expressed explicitly. This style is in contrast to the tendency in many Western countries, where direct and explicit communication is appreciated in business.

The intention, when communicating indirectly is to maintain harmony. It is considered more important to avoid saying anything that might disturb harmony, than telling the absolute truth.

To understand the message, you must include non-verbal cues like how things are said, what is not being said, and how and where things are said. You must be a good listener and read between the lines.

Regional differences tend to show more a more direct way of communicating in the south of Vietnam than in the north.

For employees to express individual points of view in front of others might be considered confrontational and unpleasant. To facilitate knowledge sharing, establishing small groups of 4-5 members, in which members can share views and opinions may work. You never contradict a superior in front of other people. You go in private.

Saving face and maintaining harmony is the reason why you should not expect Vietnamese business partners and employees to answer a request with a straight ”no”. Instead turning down a request might come in answers like:

• We’ll think about it.
• We’ll do our best.
• We are working on it.
• Maybe silence, or maybe even ”yes” – merely indicating understanding.

The degree of open, and more direct communication often change when a relationship’s stages evolve.

Evaluating performance and providing both positive and negative feedback is essential to effective leadership.

In Vietnam, feedback is given in an indirect style with great attention to how, where, and when the feedback is given. The message is often delivered gradually, and negative feedback is wrapped in „soft words and messages‟.

Individual feedback is given diplomatically one to one – not in front of others, and group feedback is given to the entire group. Attention is paid to saving face.

Vietnamese employees value supportive leaders and feedback on work performance. So, you should not avoid giving feedback – however you should pay great attention to how, when, and where.

In teamwork, talks about pros and cons, ideas, challenges, and suggestions are considered positive contributions to improving work processes and projects, however, establishing open communication in teams like this might take some attention when working in Vietnam.

Team members should explicitly know they are empowered to contribute with their opinions and contribute to other people’s work.

To focus on building a culture of trust, open communication, and knowledge sharing with work colleagues and team members, you might benefit from organizing social team meetings and out-of-company activities.

This is a framework of tendencies in Vietnamese culture. Of course, you must always consider the context of your specific situation. When analyzing your context include individual differences, company and industry norms, regional cultural norms, and your personal and company goals.

We don’t deal with cultures, we deal with individuals.