How do you try to work with buyers that speak another language/broken English?

[arlene_lee]

I'm just curious to know how everyone tries to work with different people. My gig is slowly having some growth, but I've gotten a few requests from people that can't communicate in English too well. How do you guys respond/work with people that aren't as fluent? I've been trying to get the general gist of what they're looking for, but as I'm running a writing gig and want to make communication as clear as possible, I'd like to see if anyone has a particularly good solution to this.

[tyrzeen]

I think they should use Al in general for clearer details. 

[priyank_mod]

Just now, tyrzeen said:

think they should use Al in general for clearer details. 

Nopes. AI will not help a buyer who is not fluent in English!!

On the contrary, AI uses unnecessary flowery words to sound impressive to people with poor vocabulary.

[tyrzeen]

11 minutes ago, priyank_mod said:

Nopes. AI will not help a buyer who is not fluent in English!!

On the contrary, AI uses unnecessary flowery words to sound impressive to people with poor vocabulary.

So that is the point, Thank you. But then what should someone do when this kind of situation occurs? 

[arlene_lee]

So far I've honestly tried to just ask for more clarification, but I think the long back-and-forth ends up turning some buyers away. And even with the people that stick around, I'm a little wary of taking a commission with just an idea of what they want. My gig is still relatively new, and a bad review concerning a misunderstanding over content would tank my progress.

[priyank_mod]

9 minutes ago, tyrzeen said:

So that is the point, Thank you. But then what should someone do when this kind of situation occurs? 

We all encounter buyers who are not fluent in English. 

I try to send them structured 'short and simple replies' with bulleted points. I try not to over-explain things, else they might get confused. And I always ask for clarification if their points are not clear, by suggesting <Did you mean... "this, this and this", when you asked for "xyz thing">. 

Such situations are kind of a 'live test' of our reading, writing and comprehension skills too. 

Edited August 10, 2024 by priyank_mod

[smartdezigns]

I had one or 2 buyers who were fluent in French so to communicate with them, I used Google Translator and told them beforehand that I am not good at their native language so I'm gonna use Google Translator so please be kind and understand it if I am not doing well. In the end, everything went well along with their orders. 😎

[arlene_lee]

3 minutes ago, priyank_mod said:

We all encounter buyers who are not fluent in English. 

I try to send them structured 'short and simple replies' with bulleted points. I try not to over-explain things, else they might get confused. And I always ask for clarification if their points are not clear, by suggesting <Did you mean... "this, this and this", when you asked for "xyz thing">. 

Such situations are kind of a 'live test' of our reading, writing and comprehension skills too. 

Thank you for this. The snippet about bulleted points is something I've never thought of before, which is a mistake on my part. I guess I keep expecting all my clients to want a lot of detail.

[mohd_roman]

Try to communicate as much as you can, then after some period of time, it will be easier for you to communicate fluently after more practice.