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LANGUAGE TIPS (How to contact Italians)

Although English is the standard language for international trade, it is the second spoken/written language for the Italian companies joining the ItalianModa Marketplace. The language skills of these companies vary a lot, from poor to excellent, so native English speakers should keep this in mind when approaching people from an Italian company. Under a general point of view, this is also true for non-native English speakers.

Usually it is more frequent to find an Italian company representative making himself understood through E-Mail messages than speaking properly over the phone. We recommend to begin with a written request and later place a call. Many companies are SKYPE-enabled, so you can call them through SKYPE for free (ask them for their SKYPE ID or have a look at their data in the ItalianModa Marketplace, usually on the right of their fax number).

As a real-time alternative to placing a call, you can consider to use the "LIVE SUPPORT" tool used by many Italian companies listed in ItalianModa. Click the LIVE SUPPORT button and you can establish a real-time chat with a representative of that company. It is just a matter of exchanging written messages!

When calling an Italian company please remember that often Italy has a different time zone than yours. It is GMT +1. Currently:

Local Time is 9:33 PM - Mar 18, 2010 ( Usual work time: 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM )

Some tips and recommendations for native and non-native English speakers:

Speaking

• Be patient and slow the pace of speech down.
• Pronounce words clearly.
• Repeat key points and ask for confirmation of understanding.
• Remember that your Italian contact is making the effort to speak your (or another) language.
• Keep sentences short and simple.
• Please avoid :
  1. Idioms, slang, or jargon
  2. Slurring your words
  3. Negative questions and contradictions
  4. Complex sentences

• Practice listening carefully.
• Repeat key information for confirmation.

• Avoid using long or complex sentences. Keep them short and simple.
• Create a numbered or bulleted list of points to ask or discuss.
• Do not use idioms, slang, or jargon.
• Always review what has been written and remove unnecessary or misleading words.
• When writing the very first time, please add your full name, the name of your company, as well as your street address and a phone/fax number. This will make later contacts easier. More, please consider to add a short profile of your current business and try to detail as much precisely as possible your request.

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