A Multi-Passionate Person With All Sorts Of Interests And Hobbies – Interview With Mariann Dienes
Updated: Feb 6, 2024
Mariann Dienes is an intercultural consultant and applied linguist with a background in both business and Applied Linguistics. Having worked for multinational organizations for more than 10 years, she brings a wealth of experience to intercultural consulting. Her qualifications in Applied Linguistics, Neurolanguage Coaching and English Teaching provide an excellent skill set that facilitates intercultural understanding at its best. Her primary aim is to assist clients in achieving an increased awareness of cultural dimensions, and foster understanding and cooperation in organizations.
Mariann Bobály-Dienes, Intercultural Consultant ‒ Applied Linguist
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
I am a multi-passionate person with all sorts of interests and hobbies. Graduated as an English teacher and later got an MA in Applied Linguistics and I usually have to go into explanations of what that is. It concerns all practical applications of language use – learning and development theory, instructional design, language acquisition, translation and interpreting, communication and the list goes on. I have had the chance to do all of those at one stage or another in my working life. I do literary translation, spent time teaching business English and business communication, and have worked for multinational organizations as well. I do competence assessment, language testing, training, and also Neurolanguage coaching. I combine my business experience with my passion for languages and love the practical applications of linguistics – hence my interest in intercultural communication.
But that is just a part of who I am – I am also into arts, design, crafts, and upcycling objects and furniture, and I have a long list of projects that I still want to do on a professional level as my life goes on. I am pragmatic and do not take anything for granted, but I am realistically optimistic, hard-working, and a believer in the power of education and taking action for ourselves. I do yoga, meditate regularly, and have a family. I love literature, opera, jazz, world music, interior design, and fashion and arts as a true multi-passionate.
What is your business name and how do you help your clients?
I am an intercultural consultant as a solopreneur and I help people and teams from different cultures and time zones understand each other better.
What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
I help individuals and teams working at international companies and their family members deal with all the issues changing cultures can create. I help them adapt their communication and make sense of what is happening to them. I also do Neurolanguage coaching ‒ assisting people to learn English ‒ most of the time professionals who need English at their jobs and who want to advance their career or have a block learning the language. I help in finding motivation and facilitating their language learning.
What are your current goals for your business?
I am focusing on offering new services in partnership with ICQ global from December 2022, using Global DISC and Growth 2.0 for data-driven team workshops and individual training with the latest research available in the intercultural field. This is really useful for multicultural teams that work and interface virtually with significant timezone differences.
Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?
Of course, I have a chance to follow all kinds of people so, I could list names, but my biggest inspiration comes from my parents. They never had the opportunities my generation has, and still did not give up on their values. I owe them as much as using all my opportunities and doing all they never had a chance to do.
What is your work inspired by?
Paying it forward. There were so many people who helped me when I was in need and I want to do the same for others. I also realize that there are other people going through what I went through so I can help those people on the way.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today?
From early childhood, it has been my dream to speak foreign languages. My Mum was a genius and the first time English was available(which was rare at that time) she signed me up for a course. She gave me the possibility to learn languages, which led to all sorts of opportunities. The other one was the possibility of going abroad to learn languages. That had a profound effect on how I see the world and gave me a personal understanding and insight into intercultural communication. I spent time in both in the UK and France and that had a profound impact on my work.
