I recently spent a week in London working with our international sales and solutions teams—and it was one of the most enlightening trips I’ve had in a while. Not just for the quality of the conversations, but for what I learned about how easily we, as Americans, can unintentionally confuse (or alienate) people in business conversations… especially when we default to sports metaphors or regional idioms.
At one point in a meeting, I said, “We might need to go for a Hail Mary on this one.”
Cue: polite smiles and a couple of confused looks.
Later that day: “Let’s skip to the meat and potatoes.”
Response: A colleague blinked and said, “The what?”
That’s when it hit me: phrases I use every day without thinking simply don’t translate—and even worse, they can distract from the actual point I’m trying to make.
Here’s what I’ve changed (and what I’m coaching my team to do as well):
1. Drop the Sports Lingo
Phrases like:
- “Throw a Hail Mary”
- “Get it across the finish line”
- “Cover all our bases”
These are second nature in U.S. sales environments, but they can feel confusing—or even exclusionary—if your buyer or teammate isn’t familiar with American football or baseball. I now swap these for direct, universal language:
- “Take a last-chance approach”
- “Complete the final step”
- “Ensure we’ve covered everything”
2. Be Clear, Not Colorful
Expressions like “meat and potatoes,” “boil the ocean,” or “circle the wagons” don’t always land. They’re vivid in the U.S., but can sound strange—or even comical—internationally.
Instead, I now aim for clarity:
- “Let’s focus on the core issues”
- “Let’s simplify the scope”
- “Let’s align as a team”
3. Use AI to Sanity-Check Communication
Before a big presentation or email to a global audience, I’ll often run it through AI with a prompt like:
“What parts of this email might be confusing to a UK or EU-based audience?”
It’s a quick gut-check that’s helped me rewrite unclear lines and ensure tone doesn’t get lost in translation.
At the end of the day, being understood is more important than being clever. And if we want to build trust across global teams and customers, we’ve got to meet them where they are—linguistically and culturally.
Curious—what phrases have you had to unlearn when working internationally? I’d love to hear what you’ve picked up from your global counterparts.