Warren Sheng
Meeting Warren Sheng for the first time, a person will notice two characterises immediately – the sincerity of his words accompanied by his inimitable sense of humour
When discussing a short bio with Warren, he submitted the following. I enjoyed it immensely and decided to include his information without modification.
Home Club: Tubetalk in central London, formerly Harrovians. Former President, VPE, Treasurer and Area Governor.
Claim to fame: I won my club's International Speech Contest in 2006. Then I was disqualified as it was also my icebreaker, maiden speech. Winning still felt great afterwards.
Origin: Made in Taiwan; parents from mainland China.
Occupation: Ex I.T. manager, now school business manager. I've worked for British, American, French, German and Japanese employers.
Warren has been culturally misunderstood since he came to London with his family in 1965. Was he Chinese or Taiwanese? Is he British or Chinese or a banana? The British usually thinks he's Chinese but he speaks French with a London accent; the Chinese think he's British….
Warren will lead a workshop on cross cultural communication.
- Should we use International Business English?
- How can humour be used in a culturally mixed audience?
- Is Chinese sarcasm an oxymoron?
- Should you speak in your native accent?
- Should you resemble your audience or be yourself?
- And has anyone tried to speak to your teenager son who's eating dinner while holding a Smartphone in one hand?
- Is the real cultural barrier class, age and education rather than language or national origin?
Come with a few questions;
leave with even more questions.