5 Tips for Successful Intercultural Communication

By Jennie Parker

Much has been written on English as a lingua franca and the responsibility of native English speakers, who make up only about one-third of the total English-speaking population, to attune their speech and ears to those who speak English as a second (or third, or fourth…) language. In fact, a BBC article written in 2016  claims that native English speakers are far worse than nonnative English speakers at understanding others and making themselves understood in intercultural situations.  Nonnative English speakers, according to the article, tend to speak more purposefully and carefully than native English speakers and use less jargon and slang. On the other hand, native English speakers, especially those who speak only English, are less likely to adapt to the needs of their listeners, by slowing down, for example, or rephrasing points in a different way. In fact, research shows  that when a native English speaker enters a conversation among nonnative speakers, understanding declines.

---

Over the years, I have worked with nonnative English-speaking clients who spoke perfectly clear English. When asked why they want to “improve” their English (i.e., make their English sound more like standard North American English), their responses have been variations on two common themes: they have encountered negative attitudes from native English speakers when they speak, or they feel they are not well understood by others. I’ve suggested to these clients that the negative reactions they have received from others say more about the others’ attitudes and prejudices than about their ability to speak clear English. Nonetheless, many remain motivated to change their English pronunciation.
 
Communication, however, is a two-way street. So how much of the burden to change should lie on the nonnative English speaker, and how much should lie on the native English speaker? With the majority of English speakers in the world nonnative, it may be time for native English speakers to improve their communication skills.  So, how can one become a better intercultural communicator? The following five tips are designed to help native English speakers communicate more effectively in intercultural situations:
​

1.  Bring a Positive Attitude – One of the most important shifts you can make towards intercultural competence is to make a conscious effort to want to understand a speaker.  Reflect upon your own culture, biases, and attitude. What’s getting in your way? For example, do you feel that it is mostly a speaker’s responsibility to make listeners understand? This may reflect a Western bias towards the importance of speaking, taking listening for granted as something “you just do.” Many non-Western cultures are more likely to value the skill of listening as a responsibility and sign of respect. This and other differences between cultures and communication styles may lead to biases and negative attitudes that interfere with communication. 

In a study by University of Georgia professor Donald Rubin, native English-speaking undergraduates were divided into two groups: one was shown an image of an Asian instructor, and the other was shown an image of a white instructor. Both images were paired with the same recording of a lecture given in General American English (i.e., “standard North American English”) by a native English speaker. Undergraduates who thought the speech came from the Asian instructor rated the speech as “more accented” than those who thought the speech came from the white instructor, and, more surprisingly, their listening comprehension scores were lower than those who thought the speech was coming from the white instructor. This study suggests that the biases we bring to the table have a significant effect on communication.

Recognizing and questioning your own biases may be a lifelong – but life-changing - process. The Office of Diversity and Outreach at the University of California, San Francisco, provides practical strategies to address one’s own unconscious bias.
​

2. Know your Audience.  This is sound advice no matter whom you are communicating with. However, with respect to communication partners who speak English as a second language, it is helpful to know something of the national cultures to which they belong. Culture can be thought of a lens through which communication is filtered. 

Social psychologist Geert Hoftstede suggests cultures can be defined along the following five dimensions:
 
a)  Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of a culture accept and expect unequal power distribution.
 
b)  Individualism is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.  On one end of the spectrum, members of individualist cultures are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families. They value independence and individual success. Members of collectivist cultures, on the other hand, share responsibilities among a larger communal or familiar network.  Collectivist cultures tend to value listening, harmony with others, and conformity. 
Collectivist cultures are often high-context, which means that the meaning of messages relies highly on context, tone, and nonverbal cues, whereas individualistic cultures tend to be low-context, which means meaning is derived more explicitly on words.
 
c) Masculinity refers to the level of assertiveness and competition among members whereas femininity, on the opposite end, refers to the level of modesty and caring in a culture.
​
 d) Uncertainty Avoidance refers to a culture’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; uncertainty avoiding cultures minimize risk and value security. 

e) Long-Term Orientation refers to cultures that value thrift and perseverance; values associated with short term orientation are respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations.
 
There’s far more to culture, however, than what can be summarized at a national level; subgroups related to race, ethnicity, gender, politics, socio-economic class, profession, organization, and countless other categories can all have their own unique cultures.
 
In addition to trying to understand your communication partner’s cultural perspective, it’s also helpful to tune in to your partner’s level of ease with English. Overuse of idiomatic expressions and jargon, references to American sports and old TV shows may be meaningless to your communication partner. Furthermore, particularly if your partner has not been in the US long, it may be helpful to slow your speech down and enunciate clearly. If you sense discomfort or misunderstanding on the part of your partner, rephrase using simpler terms.  Again, bringing a positive attitude pervades this advice; modify your speech in the spirit of helpfulness as not to become patronizing.
​

3. Become a Good Intercultural Listener. Much that has been written about intercultural listening is grounded in this simple idea espoused by Carl Rogers and Richard Farson in 1957 with regard to active listening: “Sincerely listen with understanding and respect.”  Again, what it means to be a good intercultural listener comes back to approaching communication with a positive attitude. 

Rogers and Farson’s work on active listening has been upheld as a successful model for intercultural listening. While members of low-context cultures (such as Germany and the United States) tend to believe that listening is a passive skill, requiring little more than hearing, members of high-context cultures (such as Brazil and China) tend to believe that listening is a skill requiring the active use of the whole being, as represented by the Chinese characters, ting.  As pointed out in research by Melissa Beall, “The characters in ‘ting’ represent the eyes, the ears, the heart, (the total being) and undivided attention…Listening requires the whole being to be involved when trying to understand what is being communicated.”

Image of "ting," which means "listening" in Chinese, as printed in Beall (2010).*

Luckily, active listening skills can be learned and practiced. According to Rogers and Farson, active listening involves listening for total meaning. Messages contain both content and feeling. Listen for both in an empathetic, nonjudgmental fashion. Americans are often quick to respond with their own storytelling, anecdotes, advice, or encouragement, often internally devising their responses before the speaker has finished speaking. Instead, active listening calls for the listener to focus entirely on the message, which involves listening for both what is said and what is not said. Nonverbal cues to note include inflection, pauses and hesitation, facial expressions, body posture, hand and eye movements, and breathing.
 
Next, active listening requires the listener to mirror back what the speaker has said in the listener’s own words, while reserving judgement. It’s important that this is done in the spirit of respect, as this is a paraphrasing technique, not simply parroting back what the speaker has said. If the speaker rejects your paraphrase, it’s important to listen again more carefully, avoiding argument. Try not to let accent or dialect distract you. With practice and concentration, your ear will attune to various accents. If necessary, ask the speaker to repeat, slow down, or say things in a different way. It may be helpful to ask for examples and details to arrive at a shared understanding. Rogers and Farson write, “Assume you never really understand until you can communicate this understanding to the other’s satisfaction.”  Note, this does not mean that you have to feign agreement with the speaker, but before presenting your own views, it’s important that you are able to paraphrase the speaker’s views.
​

4. Acknowledge the Complexities of English.  Another aspect of bringing a positive attitude to the table involves empathy. For those Anglophones who do not speak a second language, the complexities of speaking another language, especially one as difficult as English, may go unnoticed.  English is a highly non phonetic language, which means that the spelling of words does not provide a clear guide to their pronunciation. For example, we have “to,” “do,” but also “go.” In fact, we have five vowels but approximately 14 different vowel sounds. We have “berry,” “Barry,” and “bury,” which all sound exactly the same in many parts of the United States. But let’s not forget regional variations in dialect across the U.S., as well as differences in standard Englishes across the globe. For example, many people who move to the United States from other countries have learned other dialects of English, such as British English or Australian English, or they may speak a variety of English that is unique to their region.

​Furthermore, people who speak English as an additional language far outnumber those who speak English natively. Who’s to say that the native speaker is speaking correct English? Nobody, in fact. There is no governmental or royal society that dictates correct English. What is “correct” varies by region or context. A more useful way of looking at English as a lingua franca may be to ask oneself, “What is standard usage or pronunciation for the context or situation?”  All of this to say, English is complex and controversial; show empathy for those who speak it as something other than their first language.  In the words of author Amy Chua, “Do you know what a foreign accent is? It's a sign of bravery.”
​

5. Ask for Permission to Provide Feedback.  In the spirit of friendship and helpfulness, you may ask your communication partner (in private) whether he or she would like feedback on language use. If he or she consents, you could tell him or her how you would have phrased or pronounced something differently. Some nonnative speakers appreciate the feedback. But if your partner declines the help, let it go. My rule of thumb is to ask myself whether my feedback is both necessary (i.e., will it increase comprehensibility?) and elicited (i.e., does the speaker want my help?).
​

In summary, the first tip, bringing a positive attitude, pervades all of the tips here. By showing respect, empathy, and a sincere willingness to understand, you can learn to be a successful intercultural communicator. With effort and practice, you can uncover and let go of biases, learn about the cultures of your communication partners, adjust your speech to your listeners, and become an active listener. In addition to increasing your understanding of another and minimizing miscommunication and errors, you are communicating your respect towards him or her, increasing the likelihood that your messages will also be met with respect and understanding.

Ready to learn more? Every Voice delivers research-based  intercultural communication programs to address communication problems and cross-cultural misunderstandings within your business or organization. 

*Image citation: Beall, M (2010). Perspectives on Intercultural Listening. In A.D. Wolvin (Ed.) Listening and Human Communication in the 21st Century (p. 233). Chichester, West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.