Internationale Rhetorik – eine Grundkompetenz erfolgreicher Unternehmenskommunikation heute

As a result of a changing economic situation and international competition, companies are modifying strategies in order to survive in European and non-European markets. The language applied in business, or English as a lingua franca, is being analyzed and developed in training courses more and more frequently. Here it is not only a question of foreign-language competence or adapting a product to the target market; it rather concerns rhetorical skills and the ability to communicate these changes, which must take cultural specificities into account. The paper wants to encourage a training model which combines three areas of competence: rhetoric, intercultural communication and (foreign) language competence. This interaction will be shown through selected examples taken from corporate communication contexts.