International Communication: Adapting Styles

Video Transcript

"Alright, the next thing you might want to consider when you are trying to communicate with someone from another culture is to adapt your communication style to theirs. And what I mean by that is everybody has a communication style. Maybe you're really loud or maybe you're really gregarious and you're very excited and high energy. Or maybe you're very laid back and low key. Whatever the other person's style is, try to match that a little bit. And I guess what I'm saying is if they have a very reserved, quiet, laid back style, don't be all in their face. Try to pull back a little bit. Try to equal the playing field. It's hard enough to communicate with all the cultural barriers, and sometimes language barriers, so if you can adjust your style, that will put the other person a little bit more at ease, and they may be a little more comfortable communicating, talking, trying out their English language, whatever it is, if you create that kind of environment for them."