Understanding people culture along with the do’s and don’ts while communicating with a foreigner will certainly help guide the conversation in a logical direction. Having worked in an organization with 19 different nationalities and communicating with them on various different occasion, knowing something about the culture did help. For example, it’s very easy for us to talk with anyone who is from India as we share the border and with it a similar culture with them. But when it came to people from other parts of the word like Myanmar, it was a different proposition for me. They shared a different belief. The one I talked with had so much faith in Buddhism and would give away a lot of her earning to a Buddhist monk every once in a while. Now, it’s their belief, if you go around saying bad things about it that will do more harm than good; people should have the right to exercise their belief and knowing that will let us shape our communication accordingly. Someone likes a direct approach, while some don’t. So, knowing these, one should communicate accordingly.
Here are few of the habits that one should avoid in general while talking with a foreigner:
Don’t assume: Don’t think that you know everything for the assumption is the number one communication killer (A. Nagorny, S. Pugach, N. Doborovich & F. Svoykina, 2014). While talking with them, ask things about their country, and show that you’re interested rather than saying that it is this and that. Don’t counter on every single point for they know their country better than you do. Be receptive of what they have to say and ask questions if you don’t understand or if things they said give a different odd meaning to you. They might be wanting to say something different as well.
Using slang words: Slang is a very informal language used with a certain group that you are close with or share the similar culture. As this isn’t a formal language, if you use slang words with foreigners, they’re very much unlikely to understand what you intend to say.
Using complicated language, long sentences: Being from a foreign land doesn’t mean that they’re well acquainted with the language. There are so many nations of whose first language isn’t English and they don’t know it very well. So, you should keep that in mind and avoid using complicated sentences so that it isn’t difficult for them to understand. Also, use short sentences with a break in between so that they can have some time to process what you meant.
Rushing through the sentence: Speak slowly, if you start rushing around, a foreigner won’t get what you mean. Speaking slowly will let them hear the words in full and also understand them better. People might just have started using the language so for them, speaking too fast is a big no.
References
A. Nagorny, I., S. Pugach, V., N. Doborovich, A., & F. Svoykina, L. (2014). Assumption in linguistic landscapes: modal particles and problems of communication. Journal Of Language And Literature, 5 (2), 83-87.
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Understanding people culture along with the do’s and don’ts while communicating with a foreigner will certainly help guide the conversation in a logical direction. Having worked in an organization with 19 different nationalities and communicating with them on various different occasion, knowing something about the culture did help. For example, it’s very easy for us to talk with anyone who is from India as we share the border and with it a similar culture with them. But when it came to people from other parts of the word like Myanmar, it was a different proposition for me. They shared a different belief. The one I talked with had so much faith in Buddhism and would give away a lot of her earning to a Buddhist monk every once in a while. Now, it’s their belief, if you go around saying bad things about it that will do more harm than good; people should have the right to exercise their belief and knowing that will let us shape our communication accordingly. Someone likes a direct approach, while some don’t. So, knowing these, one should communicate accordingly.
Here are few of the habits that one should avoid in general while talking with a foreigner:
References
A. Nagorny, I., S. Pugach, V., N. Doborovich, A., & F. Svoykina, L. (2014). Assumption in linguistic landscapes: modal particles and problems of communication. Journal Of Language And Literature, 5 (2), 83-87.