Whenever I order steak at a restaurant and request it “medium rare,” I often find myself disappointed when it turns out to be “a little well-done” instead of the perfect “medium rare.”
There is nothing sadder than a steak that doesn’t match my image of “medium rare.”
I once had a similar experience at a steakhouse in France and decided to complain about it. Showing the waitress the cross-section of what looked like a “medium” steak, I said, “This isn’t the medium rare I ordered, is it?”
The waitress replied confidently, “Oh no, this pink colour is exactly medium rare!”
I could have argued further, but I didn’t want confrontation. So I simply said “Merci” and reluctantly ate the disappointingly firm “medium” steak.
When Words Mean Different Things
When working with international colleagues, I frequently encounter situations where words and terms carry different meanings among different people.
For instance, during discussion about education with partners from another country, the term “curriculum” came up.
In my mind, “curriculum” refers to teaching guidelines or instructional plans – essentially outlining what subjects to teach, how much time to allocate, and the teaching methodology.
However, as our conversation progressed, something felt off. My partners were discussing page counts, the amount of illustrations, and how much homework to include in each chapter of the “curriculum.” This made me think they were actually talking about a textobook.
So I asked, “Are you talking about a textbook?” They looked puzzled and replied, “No, no, we are discussing the curriculum.”
It turned out that in their country, they use the word “curriculum” to refer to what I would call “textbook,” and they don’t actually use the word “textbook” at all.
More Misunderstandings
In another instance, when asked to store some fairly large equipment, I was told to “put it in the container.” My mind immediately jumped to those massive shipping containers you see on cargo ships, and I found myself wondering where such a container could possibly be located on the premises.
What my colleague actually meant by “container” was simply a large plastic storage box in the warehouse – quite different from my mental image!
The most extreme example I encountered was in a culture where “tomorrow” is used to mean “sometime in the future.”
Unaware of this usage, I returned the next day to ask, “So, is it done?” My colleague looked completely baffled, having no idea what I was referring to.
The Real Impact
We unconsciously use words, terms, and expressions all the time, but when working with people from different cultures, these linguistic differences can create hidden traps of misunderstanding and miscommunication.
When people have different images and meanings for the same words, it can lead to serious consequences – work procedures can go wrong, and sometimes the mismatch in expectations for desired outcomes can become irreparable.
Recently, I am about to undertake a complex task involving various equipment and complex procedures with a multinational team. Even if it might annoy some people, I have decided we need to carefully verify, one by one:
whether all team members share the same image and understanding of each piece of equipment and procedure when we use specific terms
whether each word means the same thing to all of us, even though we are all speaking English.
I was thinking about this while grilling a steak the other day.
Speaking of steak – cooking it myself is definitely the best way! I made the perfect “medium rare” beef steak that matched my image exactly, although my wife told me my steak was “too rare!.”
