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Discussion on: Habits to avoid while talking with foreigners

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DIPA_DHUNGANA

Communication is the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience. Communication is effective when the receiver receives and understands the message in the same way as desired by the sender (Bell & Smith, 2014). We feel comfortable talking to the people with similar culture and same mother tongue. But at times we have to get out of our comfort zone and communicate with foreigners. We need to travel to foreign countries for education or work. In such situations, we opt for English language as it has great reach and influence as a language. While communicating with foreigners, we need to understand that they belong to different culture than ours and act accordingly. The verbal and non-verbal cues has different meanings in different culture. We should try to understand their cultural do’s and don’ts to communication better. It is important because our words, actions and thought process are guided by the culture we belong to.

While speaking English with foreigner, we need to avoid the following habits to make the communication better:

  • Use of complex words: It is not necessary that foreigners are well acquainted with English language. So we should try to make the communication process simple and precise. This is possible by avoiding the use of complex words. The use of complex words creates confusion and make it difficult to catch up with what is being communicated. Using appropriate and simple vocabulary reduces the complexity of communication (ANTVibes, 2012).

  • Use of long and unfinished sentences: Sometimes we may tent to leave the sentences in between which is a big no while communicating with foreigners. This is highly possible when we use lengthy sentences to elaborate our point. We might get confused along the way and leave the sentences unfinished (Saundz). It provides room for assumptions and anticipations resulting in misinterpretation of the information.

  • Use of jargon and slang words: Slang words are very informal words or phrases that are understood only by a certain group of people. On the other hand, jargon are special words used by professional group. We have the habit of using these when we talk to our friends, family or colleagues and are habituated to it. But while speaking to foreigner, we should be cautious and eliminate speaking such words as it is not understood by people living in other part of the world.

  • Speaking too fast or too slow: There are chances of the listeners being confused and missing out some phrases or words if we speak too fast. Similarly speaking too slow may distract the listener and they might forget things said earlier. So we should select the appropriate pace for speaking.

  • Avoiding Assumptions: We may assume that the foreigner is understanding what we are speaking and proceed further that may not be true. So we should constantly check whether the other party is receiving what we are communicating by allowing them to put forward their ideas and opinions on the subject matter in between the conversation.

To conclude, starting the conversation by talking about things that are familiar in both cultures can help in building rapport with the foreigner. This will help to understand each other better that will facilitate the communication process. In addition, avoiding unnecessary accents and abbreviated words also helps in communicating effectively.

References

ANTVibes. (2012, June 15). 5 Tips When Interacting With People Who Speak English as a 2nd Language (ESL) . Retrieved from Business 2 Community: business2community.com/strategy/5-...

Bell, A. H., & Smith, D. M. (2014). Management Communication. New York: Wiley.

Saundz. (n.d.). 5 Habits You Should Get Rid of if You Want to Speak English Fluently. Retrieved from Saundz: saundz.com/5-habits-you-should-get...