Riding a Unicycle in Chinese
I was once hired to entertain in China at an American-Chinese fashion show in the Shenzhen Grand Auditorium just north of Hong Kong. I was to perform my twelve-foot unicycle routine on the fashion runway using my usual involvement of volunteers from the audience.
I had flown in a few days prior to the event to get my cultural bearings and ease the jetlag. Come showtime I was taken in a limousine to the arena, right alongside a family of four with their chickens all riding on one moped. (Not kidding.)
Once inside the arena I met the director, the TV crew broadcasting the event and my translator. I explained to the translator what she was going to have to communicate, namely detailed and specific instructions for those who would be holding my unicycle up while I mounted it. I explained. She understood. No problem.
I was called to the stage halfway through the two-hour event as planned. I began with some juggling and balancing tricks, then headed into the crowd to get my first unicycle volunteer.
I had ten minutes to complete what was ordinarily a twenty-minute routine under the best of circumstances. The TV broadcast was live. It took a while to get my volunteers, as they were apprehensive about participating in the unusual routine. I was giving them their instructions through the translator, but they didn't seem to be getting it. Everything was taking twice as long as usual and the TV producer was behind one of the cameras gesticulating emphatically at his wristwatch.Unfortunately no one bothered to mention to the translator that in Shenzhen the language most spoken was Mandarin. Assuming it was Cantonese, since this was the predominant language in her own nearby city of Hong Kong, this is what she spoke to my helpers.
When I asked the translator to tell the volunteers that I was going to get on the unicycle, and that they would have to hold it very firmly, what they heard through the mis-translation was something approximating, "This unicycle has leprosy." They promptly sprinted away from it in unison and let it crash to the ground.
I ran and picked it up. The seat was completely bent to the side. I tried to twist it back. I couldn't. I needed a wrench that was in my equipment trunk far offstage. I ran for it. A mobile camera man chased me, filming as he went. I think they thought it was all part of my act. It was like a really bad reality TV show where they take some cocky American who thinks English is the only language in the world to another country and watch him try to function.
I got back to the stage and spent several minutes fixing the seat while the crowd tried to figure out how this was entertainment. It took another few minutes with the help of the translator to coax the volunteers back onstage and we tried it again. I did eventually ride the thing, to great cheers of applause and the wide-eyed wonder of the audience.
Communication. Trouble arises when we assume that everyone else speaks our language. If we pay attention to how our communications are being received it will become obvious when understanding is absent. We have to be willing to patiently explain things again without getting frustrated and frazzled or judging the other person, since such emotional tension always obscures meaning more than it clarifies it. And if you're ever in a situation where communication feels especially difficult and frustrating, just be glad you're not on top of a twelve-foot unicycle in China.
Made In China
Quotable
What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American.
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Get Out of Jail Free
3 Things to Remember in an Economic Downturn
If You Love Something ...
Does Your Success Need an Audience?
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The Power of Humor and Relaxation
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Rick Lewis has been entertaining and inspiring audiences for the last 30 years. The success of The World's Funniest Waiter over the years is based on clean, interactive comedy and high-level circus skills.
