Some people have names they regret. Some business names convey the wrong impression. Here are a few I have collected. Do you have any you could add?
RESTAURANTS
FU KING Chinese Restaurant in Lake City, Florida.
Kum Den Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia.
My Dung Restaurant in Rosemead, California.
Chinese Food Takeaway - Fu Do, in Bromley, Kent
Gassey Jack's near Orange City, Florida.
Hitler's Cross in Mumbai, changed its name after residents objected
Sar's Oriental Cuisine, Tacoma, Washington
McWanks's in Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada
Colon Restaurant, Barcelona, Spain
Bang a Dong in Metro, Atlanta
Cabbages and Condoms in Thailand
PEOPLE
Kim Yoo Suk is a pole vaulter
Chew Kok is a tourist guide
Sue Yoo is a lawyer in New York
Dr Ted Kadivar is a Florida surgeon
Dr Melvin Boner is an Endodentist in Florida
Dr Alden Cockburn is a urologist in New Mexico
Brad Slaughter is a Meat Manager
Karl Thojntxhebvwg is a Mortgage Consultant
Oliver Loser stood for election in Denmark
Willie Stroker was a judge at an outdoor event
Mike Litoris is an American
Rusty Kuntz plays baseball for the Detroit Tigers
Robert G. Aycock does plastic surgery
Dr Will Tickle is a chiropractor
CARS
Mazda LaPuta = The whore
Mitsubishi Pajero = Wanker
Nissan Moco = booger (nose picking)
Buick LaCrosse = masturbating teenagers (in Quebec)
Opel Ascona = vagina
Honda Fitta = vagina
Daihatsu Charade = just pretending
Dodge Swinger = so '70s!
Lamborghini Reventon = wheel puncture
Mazda Furai = stealing (in Romanian)
Sources: 2leep.com and oddee.com
I deal in words that work. If you want to be sure of getting it right, contact me.
PKP
www.pkpcommunicators.com
Saturday 19 December 2009
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Think 'local' when doing business abroad
Many a contract has been lost by not knowing how things are done locally. If you do business abroad, you need to have an understanding of how meetings are run out there ... and why.
The Western way is to start with a sliver of small talk, and then to get on with the agenda. It's well documented how Americans have flown abroad to do the business, sign the contracts, and get off home before the day is done, only to find that the locals cannot (will not) move so fast ... unless the Americans make big concessions!
It is equally well known that Arabs and other Easterners take offence when they are expected to get down to brass tacks before they have had the chance to develop a relationship of trust. So what's the best way to approach business meetings with cultures that differ from your own?
In some countries in Africa and Asia, formal meetings take a long time and frequently seem to achieve nothing - nothing that is obvious to the Western eye. It is their custom to allow and even encourage everyone present to say something on every topic that arises, even if what is said is hardly worth the breath.
It gives each person present a sense of self worth and is, in effect, a confirmation of their right to be at the meeting. It's an affirmation of status, even if the decision is eventually made by the senior person present, no matter what anyone else might say.
To get the result you want, you must be patient and fit in with the local ways. Find out what the purpose of the meeting is, and who are the really important people there. It is better to err on the side of generosity, and give a person more respect than he may deserve, rather than less.
The former may lose you nothing, while the latter may lose you everything.
PKP
The Western way is to start with a sliver of small talk, and then to get on with the agenda. It's well documented how Americans have flown abroad to do the business, sign the contracts, and get off home before the day is done, only to find that the locals cannot (will not) move so fast ... unless the Americans make big concessions!
It is equally well known that Arabs and other Easterners take offence when they are expected to get down to brass tacks before they have had the chance to develop a relationship of trust. So what's the best way to approach business meetings with cultures that differ from your own?
In some countries in Africa and Asia, formal meetings take a long time and frequently seem to achieve nothing - nothing that is obvious to the Western eye. It is their custom to allow and even encourage everyone present to say something on every topic that arises, even if what is said is hardly worth the breath.
It gives each person present a sense of self worth and is, in effect, a confirmation of their right to be at the meeting. It's an affirmation of status, even if the decision is eventually made by the senior person present, no matter what anyone else might say.
To get the result you want, you must be patient and fit in with the local ways. Find out what the purpose of the meeting is, and who are the really important people there. It is better to err on the side of generosity, and give a person more respect than he may deserve, rather than less.
The former may lose you nothing, while the latter may lose you everything.
PKP
Thursday 10 December 2009
What makes a speech or presentation succeed
I was recently approached by a friend to evaluate a speech she had prepared. It was good, well written and full of interesting content. But it wasn't a speech. It was, in effect, a spoken essay.
I told her that the text that's written to be said is different from the text that's written to be read.
An article printed in a magazine or newspaper allows you to read at your own pace, go back and read again the bits you didn't get the first time, memorise the things you want to retain. Listening to a speech is different. You hear it all just once, at the speaker's pace, and there is no instant rewind.
The speaker needs to be aware of this, and make it easy for the listener to get the point. Another consideration is the fact that our concentrations spans are very short, perhaps as little as seven seconds. Every seven seconds our minds switch to something else, so we are not paying attention all the time. (Even as you read this, you have had extraneous thoughts swim into your mind.)
Those are the built-in obstacles that a speaker must overcome. But the speaker has (or should have) a purpose for making the speech or presentation: it must be to bring about some change in the thinking, attitude or behaviour of the listener(s). That change can only come about if there is 'buy in' on the part of the listener, which implies some emotional response.
For a speech to work, for it to achieve its purpose, there needs to be a certain type of structure, the use of repetition, and some oratorical devices. Think of the famous speeches that you remember: JFK, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Winston Churchill. Think of the memorable phrases in those speeches, and note the devices - repetition, triads, mini climaxes and so on. These are the powerful elements that help the speaker to reach into the hearts of the hearers.
Being able to write in prose is not enough ... unless your PROSE stands for Purpose, Relevance, Oratory, Structure and Energy. And that's the message in my Masterclass, How to Make a Speech Worth Hearing. Saturday at The PSA London Chapter.
Get in touch.
I told her that the text that's written to be said is different from the text that's written to be read.
An article printed in a magazine or newspaper allows you to read at your own pace, go back and read again the bits you didn't get the first time, memorise the things you want to retain. Listening to a speech is different. You hear it all just once, at the speaker's pace, and there is no instant rewind.
The speaker needs to be aware of this, and make it easy for the listener to get the point. Another consideration is the fact that our concentrations spans are very short, perhaps as little as seven seconds. Every seven seconds our minds switch to something else, so we are not paying attention all the time. (Even as you read this, you have had extraneous thoughts swim into your mind.)
Those are the built-in obstacles that a speaker must overcome. But the speaker has (or should have) a purpose for making the speech or presentation: it must be to bring about some change in the thinking, attitude or behaviour of the listener(s). That change can only come about if there is 'buy in' on the part of the listener, which implies some emotional response.
For a speech to work, for it to achieve its purpose, there needs to be a certain type of structure, the use of repetition, and some oratorical devices. Think of the famous speeches that you remember: JFK, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Winston Churchill. Think of the memorable phrases in those speeches, and note the devices - repetition, triads, mini climaxes and so on. These are the powerful elements that help the speaker to reach into the hearts of the hearers.
Being able to write in prose is not enough ... unless your PROSE stands for Purpose, Relevance, Oratory, Structure and Energy. And that's the message in my Masterclass, How to Make a Speech Worth Hearing. Saturday at The PSA London Chapter.
Get in touch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
