Multicultural Advocates, Inc.
Strengthening Community through Equality and Empowerment
Cross Cultural Communication
- Do not yell or feel you have to talk louder.
- Speak distinctly and at an understandable speed.
- Listen carefully, do not interrupt.
- Allow extra time to communicate with someone whose first language is not yours.
- Respect silence and do not try to fill every gap in a conversation.
- Consider the effect of cultural differences on messages being transmitted.
- Adapt your communication style to the demands of the situation.
- Do not judge a persons intelligence based on their accents or language fluency.
- Use the telephone judiciously in cross-cultural situations.
- Make an effort to talk about differences.
- Never make ethnic jokes.
- Object when others make ethnic jokes.