

In Swiss German, people even lift their voice towards the end of most simple sentences – something that, in school German, characterizes question sentences only.Nothing good ever happens after you hear the words, “Can we talk?” or “I need to talk to you about something.” At that moment, you know you’re about to have a crucial conversation.Ĭrucial conversations are often spontaneous and can come up when we are unprepared and vulnerable. In Switzerland, much more is asked than preached, whether in the village pub or at lunch in the company. As you can imagine, this procedure takes time. It may be that some mountain farmers express these traits in rocky solitude, but, in general, there is a misunderstanding here: In Switzerland, people like to let each other finish, then think about what they have said or heard – and only then do they respond. Before you get to your “red line,” try to ask good questions instead of making speeches.ĭo you know what they say about the Swiss? They tend to be slow and stoic.

When you speak to each other, it is important to speak at eye level – that is, as long as the subject is not below the belt – because even the best understanding must stop somewhere. This way you will also uncover illogical or ideological patterns – in you and in others. Be content with simply listening from time to time, and plan to hear out the person’s story to achieve a level of shared meaning. You can never be sure that you know why the other person thinks the way he/she thinks. Unfortunately, in many other democracies, especially in those where the political spectrum is not as broad as in Switzerland and the whole system tends to polarization, more and more people tend to hold back from expressing their personal opinions in public, which makes even more room for those who do exactly the opposite. In short, those who live here have a lot to do with political dissidents, are asked about political attitudes regularly and must be able to present their own arguments, often.

In the days and weeks before these votes and elections, they are the dominant topics in all daily newspapers, on television, on the radio, at the regulars’ table and on the playground. In Switzerland, the average citizen goes to the ballot box four to six times a year to vote – on very specific political proposals, but also on local and national democratic representative bodies. Well…let’s begin by saying that sometimes it is especially useful that getAbstract is a Swiss company. Mueller from Finance is known for always being in favor of lowering taxes – but in view of the current pandemic, your opinion is that more state reserves need to be built up? Smith from Marketing recently said that there is a lot to be learned from the president’s Twitter account in terms of viral guerrilla marketing – and all you could do was shake your head? And how many times did Simon from HR actually show up uninvited at the lunch table last week to promote the president’s opponents? Is this necessary? Is it appropriate? And how should you react? When the tension is high, and this is always the case before elections, cases of politically motivated conflicts in the workplace also increase.
