Corporate Training Magazine

Navigating Cross-cultural Communications in the Workplace
Vol 3 Issue 5- Sept 2007

By Bonnie Gross

Success in business all comes down to understanding -- whether it's understanding a product, technology, customer buying levels, or perhaps most importantly, each other. For any organization to function in today's culturally diverse marketplace, the entire team must be able to communicate clearly and confidently, regardless of their mother tongue.

An increasingly international work environment is a growing trend in human resources that's presenting organizations with both distinct advantages and some unique challenges. HR professionals, in particular, are facing new issues when it comes to bringing globally diverse individuals together within the corporate culture.

The most awkward? Having to tell a team member that you don't understand their accent. Saying nothing may seem like the politically correct thing to do, but in many ways this can be considered more rude. If a message is unclear because of an individual's accent or their cultural or regional mannerisms, the listener may lack direction or become confused. The speaker will often feel equally frustrated and not understand why.

The majority of internationally trained professionals have already been educated in English and have a working command of the language in terms of vocabulary and writing. So 'accent issues' can be frustrating and leave them feeling isolated within the work environment.

To avoid misunderstandings--and stereotypes--from inhibiting workplace productivity, organizations are finding that it pays to have employees improve their communication skills with the help of a speech pathologist who specializes in these areas. The goal isn't necessarily to eliminate a person's accent, but to encourage pronunciation clarity, speech flow and intonation, within the North American work environment. That way, there is no struggle on either the part of the speaker or listener to communicate a message clearly.

Effective managers need to identify these issues and help all employees communicate more effectively. Being encouraging and helpful to all employees with communication issues will help them with their own career growth and satisfaction. With proper assessment, teaching, practice, exercises to retrain tongue movement, and a supportive workplace, an employee can overcome most communication issues.

Pronunciation
Pronunciation and intonation are perhaps the most common communication issues in global workplaces, largely because of the varying sounds, rhythms and tones used around the world and the different meanings they can convey.

For instance, some Indian or Chinese dialects have no V sound, so speakers tend to replace it with a W. In the Canadian office, this can result in the speaker saying something completely different than what is intended ‹ like saying 'wine' instead of 'vine'.

The R sound is also pronounced in many different ways around the world--rolled on the tongue in Spanish or sounding more like 'l' in Chinese. In other languages 'th' is not a sound used at all. Not only is it challenging to learn how to pronounce, but protruding your tongue out to produce the 'th' sound can be considered rude in many cultures.

Rhythm and Flow
A feature of the way English is spoken in India is to put equal stress on all syllables and on many words in a sentence. To a native English speaker raised in Canada, this often comes across as sounding multi-syllabic and therefore confusing because Canadians tend to stress specific syllables and words to convey flow and meaning of the statement.

Pacing
A person's pace when speaking can also be misinterpreted. Spanish-speaking people tend to learn to talk at a rapid rate, so when they speak in English it can sound too fast-paced and hard to follow.

Project Your Voice
In some cultures, voice projection is considered rude or unfeminine. In North America, it is considered confident. Keeping your voice in low, resonant tones generally sounds more pleasant than if your voice is high-pitched or nasal. Mumbling or speaking too quietly makes it difficult for people to follow your message, so be sure to project your voice, particularly when speaking to groups.

Tone of Voice
Using the right expression delivers your mood to the listener. If you speak English in a monotonous style, this can be interpreted as being bored or lacking feeling.

Culturally Appropriate Body Language and Facial Expression
Even mannerisms and body language can create a cultural divide within the workspace. Eastern European professionals are taught that smiling is inappropriate in business settings, so they may be mistaken for being unapproachable or angry. In China, it is not appropriate to speak unless spoken to, or to praise yourself. In Canada, this is often interpreted as a lack of confidence.

Supportive Workplaces
As citizens of the most multicultural country in the world, we can all face unique challenges in bringing together our various traditions and cultural nuances. Without meaning to, we can often misunderstand or miscommunicate with colleagues and friends from a different culture. The key is awareness and sensitivity, as well as learning appropriate language and other communication styles so that misunderstandings do not interfere with our business and social relationships.

Bonnie Gross is a speech language pathologist and president of SpeechScience.