dynamic
communications
skills
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3.
Victor, a recent immigrant from eastern Europe, works
for a multinational consumer products company. He is
bewildered when his managers infer that his expertise
as a computer analyst is outweighed by his negative
attitude at team meetings.
4. Aria is a
top aeronautics engineer from the Middle East, whose
written work is full of grammar errors.
5. Yoji, who
has just transferred from Japan to work at the
Canadian division of his electronics company, is so
concerned about making mistakes he rarely speaks at
all.
What do all these
people have in common? They are all highly skilled
professionals whose contribution to their company is
compromised by a gap in their cultural and linguistic
communication skills. They are in their positions because
they have the skills to do the job. And yet, when English
is not the native tongue, communication skills can be
complicated by cultural and linguistic barriers. Do any
of these issues sound familiar?
- accent makes
them difficult to understand, so employees and
colleagues don't listen to them
- cultural
differences make them appear either too passive or too
aggressive in group discussions
- limited
vocabulary leads to fear of embarrassment and prevents
individuals from contributing their
expertise
- difficulty
with cultural adaptation leads to a sense of isolation
(which leads to the perception that the individual is
not a team player)
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