As Chapter 4 discusses, different cultures often have different ideas about what constitutes competent verbal communication. To help you communicate competently with people from other cultures, consider the following guidelines.

First, think about whether the people you are communicating with are from a high- or low-context culture. As Chapter 4 notes, in high-context cultures (China, Korea, Japan), people presume that listeners share extensive knowledge in common with them. As a result, they don’t feel a need to provide a lot of specific details in their messages. In low-context cultures (Germany, Scandinavia, the United States), people tend not to presume that listeners share their beliefs, attitudes, and values, so they tailor their verbal communication to be informative, clear, and direct (E. T. Hall & Hall, 1987).

Consider what this cultural difference means for expressing constructive criticism. If you told a classmate from a high-context culture, “I thought your presentation had several problems,” he or she would likely perceive your comment as intolerably direct and rude. A more comfortable comment for this classmate might be, “What issues do you think arose in your speech?” But if you asked a classmate from a low-context culture this question, he or she might interpret it as cryptic. To avoid such confusion, try to tailor the directness of your language to your listeners’ cultural preferences.

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Second, adjust your verbal communication to match others’ speech rates and desired balance of “turn taking” (Bianconi, 2002; Coupland, Giles, & Wiemann, 1991). Observe how rapidly the person you’re talking with speaks, and how long a turn he or she takes when talking. Then match the person’s speech rate, and use similar turn lengths. Monitor any feedback while you’re conversing (such as nodding or fidgeting) to see whether your conversation partner wants you to continue or stop. (For more details on accommodating, see pp. 110–111 in Chapter 4.)

Third, and most important, don’t change your language or voice in substantial ways just because you’re speaking to someone from another culture. For example, many Euro-American college students switch to simplistic language and talk slower and louder when interacting with Asian and Asian American students, as if they were talking with small children. This change in speech behavior is viewed as both patronizing and insulting by recipients (Jimenez & McCornack, 2011).