CITD Seminar - Intercultural Business Communication

When conducting business abroad and trying to enter new markets, clearly communicating with your business partners in different countries is key to your success. This requires an understanding of the cultural norms and interpersonal aspects of doing business in a particular country above and beyond the language and general business landscape. Experts in their field will cover conducting business one-on-one with your international counterparts, how to present effectively to international audiences, and will cover the Pacific Rim, South America and Europe and how those cultures differ with American business cultural norms.

This seminar is one of a nine-part seminar series on international business and is supported by the US Department of Commerce and the Small Business Association.

To register please use the registration form

Date: Tuesday, November 30th, 2004
Location: USDoC, 250 Montgomery Street, 14th floor, San Francisco CA 94104
Time 8:45 am - 1:00 pm

08:45 - 09:15 Registration and Networking
09:15 - 09:30 Introductions
09:30 - 10:40 Syndi Seid, company Advanced Etiquette - interpersonal communications in the Pacific Rim, South America and Europe, covering developing your own international image, business card savvy, rank and status, handshaking techniques, appropriate eye contact and gazes, rising to the occasion, maximizing your networking effectiveness at a social event and gift-giving practices.
10:40 - 11:10 break
11:10 - 12:20 Kristene Bondi, CNW Consulting, Inc.- In this portion of the program, Ms. Bondi provides guidance on: (1) the appropriate way to present yourself during a meeting an international client; (2) the most effective ways to use an interrupter in meetings and for presentations; and (3) how to use your body and voice to connect to with an international audience.
12:20 - 12:30 Panel discussions and questions
12:30 - 13:00 Networking

The panel moderator will be Keith Rayner of Kemarra, Inc.

Biographies

Kristene M. Bondi
Kris Bondi is the president of CNW Consulting, Inc., which specializes in executive media and presentation coaching and issues management/crisis communications counsel. She has a background in journalism, public relations, crisis communications, government relations and marketing communications. Ms. Bondi has trained executives for over 12 years and has worked international for more than a decade.She has served as a consultant to Fortune 100 companies, international organizations and startup companies. Some of her current and past clients include Starbucks, NEC, Visa USA, Visa International, Genentech, TIBCO Software, Commerce One, NorthPoint Communications, American Red Cross and many technology, financial services, security and biomedical startup companies.

Syndi Seid
Syndi Seid is a professional speaker and trainer, and founder of Advanced Etiquette, based in San Francisco. She is the expert of choice to companies and individuals seeking comprehensive training and consulting in international business and social etiquette and protocol. Syndi is a graduate of The Protocol School of Washington - in our nation's capital - where she holds the highest certifications available as an Independent Certified Corporate; International Protocol; Children's and Teen; Tea Etiquette Trainer and Consultant.
She has appeared on numerous national and international TV, radio, and print publications, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and HGTV's Party At Home. Currently you can find Syndi on the national office supply company web site of Staples.com, under the business services section, titled: "Ask The Expert," as their business and social etiquette expert. She is also a strategic partner to the premiere online small business web site, SBTV.com where you can see her etiquette tips featured regularly on how to succeed in a small business.
Among her increasing list of private, corporate, and international clients, they include Hewlett-Packard Worldwide, Agilent Technologies, Inc.; Marriott Corporation, and the Miss Universe Pageant, Inc. Her book credits include highlights on speaking tips in "The Challenge of Effective Speaking," Ninth Edition, by Wadsworth Publishing; a chapter on "Host Duties and Guest Responsibilities" in "When Good People Throw Bad Parties," by Terri Mandell. She has a FREE online publication, "Etiquette Tip of the Month" newsletter which provides quick, easy-to-read tips on various topics each month, which has boosted the viewership of her site to nearly 500,000 annually.

Keith Rayner , Kemarra Inc.
Keith Rayner is Managing Director of Kemarra Inc, an international business development consultancy specializing in the ICT and Life Sciences sectors. The company represents both US companies wishing to expand abroad, and foreign companies wishing to establish themselves in the US. The company is based in San Francisco, next to Silicon Valley, and is ideally situated to help companies establish themselves in this important high-tech region. Kemarra also works with its network of international partners to ensure the success of US companies in their move abroad.
Mr. Rayner started his international career in London, working on the commodity and stock markets. A move abroad to New York saw consultancy work on Wall Street with Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Citibank. He then broadened his international experience with four years in Berlin, Germany, and five years in Paris, France, consulting for a number of companies in the financial and IT sectors. With fluency in both German and French, he then represented a US software product company in sales and marketing to European multinational telecommunication companies, overseeing a number of projects in different countries. Keith then returned to the US, transitioning full-time to product marketing for several US software firms.
As founder of Kemarra Inc. Mr Rayner is keenly aware of the factors that determine the success of a move into a new market abroad, and can help companies avoid many of the pitfalls that await the unwary.
Keith has a BSc in Psychology from Reading University in the UK, a Diploma in Medical Sciences from the University of Central England, and the "Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom", specialist subject Economics, from the Goethe Institute in Germany. Kemarra Inc. can be found at www.kemarra.com.