By Zhou Xingzi
On 15th, July, an American delegation visited BNUZ and spent one week giving lectures and holding exchange activities with the School of Foreign Language and the School of Engineering. They altogether gave six lectures on a wide range of topics, including economy, culture, health care, environment and communication skills. The American lecturers’ humorous style and funny stories attracted large audiences and the specific and vivid content shed lights on a real American modern life. The six lectures were as follows.
Lecture 1: Communication Skills
Speaker: Mr. Will Kassner
Why do we build bridges? How to be a good listener? Revolving around the two questions, Mr. Will Kassner introduced his topic communication skills. He pointed out that nowadays people lead such a fast-paced life that they almost forgot the importance of communication and the widespread use of high-tech products, such as cell phones and I-PAD, further impedes communication. He then gave a number of suggestions as to how to be a good communicator, a good listener in particular.
Lecture 2: American Business Culture
Speaker: Ms. Christie Ellzey
Ms. Christie Ellzey elaborated on American business in the aspects of individualism, favorable economic environment, personal values, norms and ethics. Regarding personal values, she mentioned those valuable qualities, such as assertiveness, dedication and confidence. When she talked about norms, she pointed out the differences in communication style between Americans and peoples from other countries. For example, “yes” means “I am listening” in some other countries while in America it means, “I agree”. After she informed students of the characteristics of a U.S. resume, she gave some tips on resume writing and obtaining a job with an U.S. business or company. Specifically, she advised students to use action words and phrases when describing experience rather than passive verbs. Then she told students the etiquette for business lunches and dinners.
Lecture 3：U.S. Healthcare and Healthcare Systems
Speaker:Ms.Amber Lee
Ms. Lee first of all briefed on how U.S. Healthcare Systems was developed from 1965. She then elaborated on Medicare and Medicaid in the United States, including its eligibility and benefits. Apart from introducing some old practices, she mentioned eligibility expansion of medicare and some reforms of Healthcare System, as indicated in the Affordable Care Act, especially Individual Mandates and Employer Mandates. She also analyzed the Healthcare Systems in terms of primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, quaternary care, the health care team and medical education. At last, Ms. Lee suggested that medical students should volunteer at a clinic or hospital so as to acquire practical experience.
Lecture 4：Sustainability in American Business and Culture
Speaker: Mr. Kevin Nowlin
Mr. Kevin Nowlin pointed out that sustainability originated around a growing awareness in the 1980s that businesses had to find ways to grow their economies without destroying the environment or sacrificing the well-being of future generations. Sustainability could be defined as ‘meeting the current generations’ needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.’ Since 1980s, sustainability has become a ‘buzzword’ for an array of social and environmental causes, and in the business world it denotes a powerful and defining idea: a sustainable corporation is one that creates profit for its shareholders while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those with whom it interacts. Mr. Kevin Nowlin recommended three ways to enhance economy: protecting the business and reducing the risk; running the business and cutting the cost; and innovating the business and being productive.
Lecture 5：Understanding Life and Leadership
Speaker: Mr. Will Kassner
Mr. Kassner first of all raised a question, “What will you do if you get lost?” He told the students that a leader was just like a map, which could lead lost people to the right direction. Not only did a leader played a significant role in a team, but also leadership contributed a lot to teamwork. He pointed out 13 qualities for leadership: openness, supportiveness, motivation, empowerment, honesty, ability to delegate, communication, humor, confidence, commitment, positive attitude, creativity, intuition, ability to inspire and vision. When he accounted for how to be motivated, he gave 5 tips. First, you need to encourage your team numbers have positive attitudes; second, communicate well with others; third, set reachable goals; fourth, give frequent feedback; fifth, reward people with good jobs. To illustrate empowerment, he played a game with his team, which showed the significance of trust between team numbers. Mr. Kassner told us that an outstanding leader should trust his team numbers at any time.
Lecture 6: American Culture
Speaker: Mr. Barrett Bowden
Mr. Barrett Bowden illustrated different geographic locations in the U.S. as well as their population by using a map. The distribution of population determines the region''''s economic development. Densely populated and most economically developed areas are usually close to the coast, such as New York and Boston. Spiritual power helps America to promote the development of the country. Almost 70% of the Americans have their own religions. Its level of the education is one of the highest in the world, due to its quality and pre-school education. He also mentioned that music, movies, sports and food play an important role in their daily life. Mixing the work and entertainment together can reduce the pressure. Mr. Barrett Bowden also introduced American holidays, their purposes and the way to celebrate them.
If the daytime was for American culture, then Chinese culture was absolutely the leading role at night. Every evening, the students invited the delegation to experience Chinese culture in an ancient house of Huitong Village. By making dumpling, cutting paper and so on, the delegation totally exposed themselves to the fascination of Chinese culture.
One week was short, but the exchanges of culture and the friendship between the delegation and the students would always be valuable and unforgettable.
