Ex-journalist spreads her cultural know-how

Former news correspondent Edith Coron uses her international experience to advise executives how to understand and manage relations between people from different countries.

It may be surprising to know that even some of the world's most powerful businesspeople can experience difficulties "thinking things through".

"Through asking questions, I help them shape their thinking process," says Coron, whose company is based in Beijing.

"They do not need hard skills. But it is the soft skills, such as people skills, the capacity to communicate effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds, that prove difficult to get," says the 56-year-old French woman, who provides a tailor-made service in one-on-one sessions.

The monthly one-hour session can last from three months to a year depending on individual goals.

For Coron, communicating effectively in an international team is not about speaking the same language but about dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds and rules of behavior.

That's familiar ground for Coron. As a former foreign correspondent for about 20 years, Coron moved from one country to another, covering everything from general news to politics, business and war.

When she finally moved back to her hometown in France in the late 1990s, she worked as a foreign correspondent for a London-based newspaper called The European.

"The secret is to clear your mind about the stereotypes we all have about other people - and try to relate to people at an individual level."

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