Challenges and Joys for Businesses During the Winter Olympics

Another season of icy cold temperatures and snow has its advantages. While we are huddled in front of a roaring fire, sipping hot chocolate to keep out the chill of blizzard conditions, we can warm to the heartening images of a timeless world-wide unifier - the Winter Olympics.

This year the Games have come to Vancouver, British Columbia, marking only the second time in history the Winter Olympic Games have been held in Canada, and only the third time it has hosted any Olympic competition. In 1988 Calgary, Alberta saw the Winter Olympics, and in 1976 the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. In a country where the languages spoken are fairly evenly split into French and English, a number of challenges arise for competitors and the businesses that will accommodate international visitors them.

Imagine you are a hotel manager in the heart of Vancouver hoping to entice international athletes to your hotel for the exciting two weeks they are in town. How would you do it? Translate your website and advertising brochures into both English and French Canadian? What about the large number of Asian competitors that usually enter the Games? Your hotel might lose important business if you exclude them from your promotions. That's a considerable potential problem!
  
Nobody would want to see a failure during these Olympics simply because of the language barrier. The Olympics have always been about including people of varying cultures, uniting on the basis of athletic competition, not excluding because the languages spoken are not that of the host country. The many thousands of spectators who come to Vancouver to enjoy the Games shouldn’t feel shunned by local companies either, but embraced for the diversity they bring to the area.

Techworld Language Solutions is here to make the language and cultural barrier as transparent as possible on both sides. Our website maintains a very useful currency converter, to help you keep up with the ever-changing rate of exchange between your local currency and that of any other nation. As a business person this could be a tool you refer to again and again when dealing with visitors from all over the world. As a merchant or vendor, this could help you treat people with understanding. As an individual, this will give you the advantage when exchanging your money at local converters, not only in Canada, but anywhere in the world.

If you are a native English speaker, unfamiliar with a visitor’s language, Techworld is here to make conducting business with the international community as smooth as possible. If you’re concerned about crossing the cultural barrier, Techworld can put your fears to rest. Cultural Awareness Training will simulate potential situations that could create social awkwardness, allowing you to overcome the difficulties with poise.

The Olympic Games are a sight to behold for people of all countries, and they should be enjoyed in the purest form possible. Imagine the dual joy knowing both English and Romanian would bring during the playing of the countries’ national anthems, if a native speaker of each language were accepting a medal. Imagine the satisfaction at the end of another historic Olympic Games, if you could bid “adieu, merci, et bon voyage” to visitors from French-speaking  countries, instead of just “goodbye, thank you, and have a safe trip.”

Call today to get started on the enriching path toward learning a new language; Techworld will welcome you with open arms!

Best regards,
Fred Meinberg
President
fred@techworldinc.com