{"id":4403,"date":"2016-11-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/dont-break-out-of-your-shell-2\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T13:24:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T04:24:26","slug":"dont-break-out-of-your-shell-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/dont-break-out-of-your-shell-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Break Out Of Your Shell!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u300c\u30ef\u30fc\u30ad\u30f3\u30b0\u30fb\u30a6\u30fc\u30de\u30f3\u300d\u30b7\u30ea\u30fc\u30ba\u3067\u3042\u308b\u3053\u306e\u30a4\u30f3\u30bf\u30d3\u30e5\u30fc\u3067\u306f\u3001\u30de\u30ca\u30fc\u8b1b\u5e2b\u306e\u897f\u51fa\u3072\u308d\u5b50\u3055\u3093\u304b\u3089\u79c1\u304c\u30a4\u30f3\u30bf\u30d3\u30e5\u30fc\u3092\u53d7\u3051\u3001\u300c\u3082\u3063\u305f\u3044\u306a\u3044\u300d\u306b\u3064\u3044\u3066\u304a\u8a71\u3057\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002\u30d3\u30c7\u30aa\u306f\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3001\u30b9\u30af\u30ea\u30d7\u30c8\u306f\u82f1\u8a9e\u3067\u3059\u3002\u3069\u3046\u305e\u3054\u89a7\u4e0b\u3055\u3044\uff01<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why do Japanese people hesitate to speak up?<\/li>\n<li>What communication skill is a must in the global workplace?<\/li>\n<li>What one word can help you develop that skill?<\/li>\n<li>What makes a good listener?<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s wrong with breaking out of your shell?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are some of the questions we explore in this month\u2019s working woman interview. This time, instead of me asking the questions, I\u2019m being interviewed by <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/dont-break-out-of-your-shell-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hiroko Nishide<\/a><\/span> in this clip from her Hiroko Salon series. Click on the image below to watch the original Japanese video. Below that is an English translation of our conversation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V1UELzq9dYo?rel=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Can&#8217;t see the video above? <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/V1UELzq9dYo\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch in YouTube<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: We spoke earlier about what\u2019s great about Japanese people as well as what they could perhaps do differently. And you mentioned the concept of \u201cmottainai\u201d (a waste) in relation to Japanese humility. So when we feel we can\u2019t say something and we hold it inside. Is that what you mean?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: I think there are various forms of \u201cmottainai.\u201d My business is focuses on communication for global business and corporations. I see a lot of \u201cmottainai\u201d in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: For example?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: For example, you have a good idea, but don\u2019t speak up at a meeting. I think this happens a lot. It\u2019s \u201cmottainai.\u201d If the person spoke up, everyone could get better results in the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Oh, yes, I see that. I\u2019m nearly 50 now, so I say whatever I like! But when I was younger, even if I wanted to say something, I didn\u2019t feel I could say it.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes, that\u2019s \u201cmottainai.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: In your opinion, why does that happen?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Not speaking up or not asking questions, even if you have an idea or you\u2019re curious about why something is a certain way, but you don\u2019t ask questions. When you think about it, in the Japanese education system, asking questions isn\u2019t really taught. The teacher teaches. You listen to the teacher. That\u2019s what usually happens.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: It\u2019s very passive, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: That\u2019s right. And people tend to think that there\u2019s only one correct answer. So students don\u2019t ask questions or speak up.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Yes, I think that\u2019s absolutely the case. So that\u2019s perhaps why we\u2019re not so good at communication. From the global perspective, Japanese people \u2013 when you communicate, you need someone to communicate with, right? But from elementary school, we just listened to what the teacher said and in tests we thought there was only one correct answer. That\u2019s our education system, so we feel that if we ask a question it might be rude.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: That\u2019s how we feel.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes. And there\u2019s the old influence of Confucianism from China in the sense of respecting authority and that it\u2019s rude to ask questions.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Yes, yes, that\u2019s right. We do feel it might be rude to ask a question.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Actually, my education in the UK was very similar. So deep down, I find it difficult to ask questions. But working in global business, if you don\u2019t ask questions all sorts of misunderstandings can happen.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Especially in the global context.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Especially in the global context. I understand that. But even just in Japan, you want to ask something, you want to know something, but you don\u2019t ask, and then there\u2019s a miscommunication. As a result, you do something wrong in your work and get into trouble, your boss is angry, or someone complains.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: So when you go out into the workplace, asking questions is a necessity, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes, I think so.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: But when I was young, I couldn\u2019t do that. I think many of our viewers find it difficult to ask questions. What advice do you have for them?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: One keyword is \u201ccuriosity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Curiosity?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes. Let me tell you a tale from my past. I\u2019ve been involved in communication-related work for a long time and I considered myself a good listener. I was rather proud of myself. I would listen quietly to people.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: In Japan, there\u2019s a saying that if you\u2019re a good listener, you\u2019re a good speaker. What do you think?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Well, I considered myself a good listener. I was proud of it. But a colleague was visiting from overseas and one day, she said to me, \u201cHelen, you don\u2019t seem to be interested in anything I say. You never ask me any questions.\u201d It was a huge shock!<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Oh, that makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: So after that, I realized that if I didn\u2019t ask a question, it could be interpreted as me not being interested in the other person.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Ah. And, by the way, where was that person from?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: She was from Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: From Australia?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: We often say that someone\u2019s from this country or this nationality and we make judgments based on that. But even in Japan, I think there are Japanese people who might feel that if someone doesn\u2019t ask anything, the other person isn\u2019t interested in them. Helen, you communicate with a lot of people from around the world, but what I say is that the heart of manners is the same all over the world.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: But the form \u2013 or how you express the manners \u2013 differs depending on the country or region. Even in Japan, there are different forms of etiquette depending on the region. So rather than what is good or bad, as you said, having consideration and a feeling of kindness should be the first step. Then on top of that, for good communication with each other, we should open the doors of our heart, and speak honestly.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: So your Australian colleague said, \u201cYou don\u2019t ask questions, so you\u2019re not interested in what I say.\u201d I\u2019m sure you were surprised.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes, it was a shock.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Yes, it must have been a shock. But what did you think? You received a shock, but what did you think after that?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: After that, I realized I had to ask questions. And I made an effort. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s easy. Not asking questions was a habit. I often talk about our comfort zone.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Could you explain the concept of comfort zone?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: It\u2019s where you feel comfortable. It\u2019s what you\u2019re used to. When we learn something new, we have to step out of our comfort zone.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: I see. So this comfort zone, which is comfortable and we\u2019re used to, that\u2019s ours, right?<\/p>\n<p>Helen: That\u2019s right. And when we learn something new, we have to step out of it. And at first, we feel uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: We feel some resistance, but when we step out and do something new, our comfort zone grows.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: Oh, that\u2019s a great concept! In Japan, we often talk about \u201cbreaking out of your shell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes, it\u2019s like that.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: But to break out of your shell takes a lot of courage. And it\u2019s scary. But when I listened to what you just said, it changed the way I think. The shell is basically the boundary of the comfort zone and it\u2019s not a case of breaking it. It\u2019s about expanding it.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: Yes. Little by little. If you try to take a big step out of your comfort zone, it\u2019s scary! And then you can\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n<p>Hiroko: That\u2019s right! So it\u2019s not about breaking the comfort zone, it\u2019s about gradually making it bigger. Even just a tiny bit. Like a tiny step by a tiny chick. Just bit by bit.<\/p>\n<p>Helen: That\u2019s right!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">* \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/p>\n<p>By the way,\u00a0<b>I&#8217;m stepping out of my comfort zone every morning\u00a0this week (Oct 24-28) from 7.30am Japan time on Facebook Live. <\/b><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m talking about why we get nervous about giving presentations and how to overcome nerves. Also answering your questions\u00a0in the comments.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sasugacommunications\/posts\/1806104542957745\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch\u00a0the\u00a015-minute video from Day 1<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Search for Helen Iwata on Facebook at 7.30am\u00a0if you&#8217;d like to join!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u300c\u30ef\u30fc\u30ad\u30f3\u30b0\u30fb\u30a6\u30fc\u30de\u30f3\u300d\u30b7\u30ea\u30fc\u30ba\u3067\u3042\u308b\u3053\u306e\u30a4\u30f3\u30bf\u30d3\u30e5\u30fc\u3067\u306f\u3001\u30de\u30ca\u30fc\u8b1b\u5e2b\u306e\u897f\u51fa\u3072\u308d\u5b50\u3055\u3093\u304b\u3089\u79c1\u304c\u30a4\u30f3\u30bf\u30d3\u30e5\u30fc\u3092\u53d7\u3051\u3001\u300c\u3082\u3063\u305f\u3044\u306a\u3044\u300d\u306b\u3064\u3044\u3066\u304a\u8a71\u3057\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002\u30d3\u30c7\u30aa\u306f\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3001\u30b9\u30af\u30ea\u30d7\u30c8\u306f\u82f1\u8a9e\u3067\u3059\u3002\u3069\u3046\u305e\u3054\u89a7\u4e0b\u3055\u3044\uff01 Why do Japanese people hesitate to speak up? What communication skill is a must in the global workplace? What one word can help you develop that skill? What makes a good listener? What\u2019s wrong with breaking out of your shell? These are some of the questions we explore in this month\u2019s working woman interview. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4403"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18385,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4403\/revisions\/18385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}