The lesson of this lack of knowledge of French as applied to
salesmanship is this: That while the average Frenchman is greatly
flattered when you tell him that his English is good, he prefers to talk
business in his own vernacular. He thinks and calculates better in
French. Frequently when you engage him in conversation in English and
the question of business comes up, you find that he instinctively lapses
into his mother tongue.
I was talking one day with Monsieur Ribot, the French Minister of
Finance, whose English is almost above reproach, and who maintained the
integrity of his English through a long conversation. But the moment I
asked him a question about the proposed bond issue, he shifted into
French and kept that key until every financial rock had been passed.
In short, you find that if you want to do business in France, you must
know the French language. It is one of the keys to an understanding of
the French temperament.
Even when Americans do become energetic in France, they sometimes fail
to fortify themselves with important facts before entering into hard and
fast transactions. As usual, they pay dearly for such omissions. This
brings us to what might be called The Great American Deluge which
overwhelmed not a few Yankee pocketbooks and left their owners sadder
and saner.
Fully to understand this series of events, you must know that since the
beginning of the war the question of an adequate French coal supply has
been acute.
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