The English language has been the dominant medium of communication across different cultures, races and nations. Almost all of the things we read on the internet, books, the movies we watch, and the songs that we listen to are in English. Or at least has a translation of it in the form of different writing or subtitles. Even this blog is in English considering I am not a native speaker. It is my secondary language.
Now that work crosses country borders with most of it happening in Asia, most people that do the work are not native English speakers. Me not being an exception, we learned how to use the language in school and exposure through various media such as books, TV, movies, and music.
While the language has helped connect diverse people, it can also become a hindrance in conveying messages. What was said can be interpreted differently, or not easily understood at all, depending on the recipients’ experience and knowledge of the language. This is very common in outsourcing companies where people from countries such as the Philippines and India, are providing service to people who are native speakers of the English language. While these examples of countries have a good command of the language and may be fluent in using it, there are still some, and times, when what said is misunderstood.
Misunderstanding sarcasm
In one of the many meetings that I had with one of my previous bosses, we were discussing our approach to a difficult client that we had. On a weekly basis, there seems to be a new issue that this client brings up that took up most of our time. Instead of doing something else, we were caught up with appeasing this client and everyone was so stressed out.
“Do you want me to take this client off your hand?”, my boss asked in an email. As a response, I gladly said yes so I could focus on other things. I mentioned that I can not think of anything anymore on how to resolve whatever issues the client keeps coming up with. Apparently, and maybe sarcastically, that is not what my boss meant.
To me, my boss was offering me a way out and helping me. To my boss, well I don’t really know, it must be a way of challenging me. Or must be sarcastically saying things which is no way to deal with your subordinate. No way to know now. I still kept that client under my responsibilities. In the end, I had to quit as that was quite a very stressful time in my life.
In this example, that person was not a native speaker of English. Both of us are not. Since I am not a native speaker, I do not easily anticipate sarcasm. I could hear it from the shows and movies I watch but when it is directed to me, in English, I do not hear it. And this is one of the barriers between the two races. The other person may be using the language differently than what I am ready to understand.
Mistake as to the meaning of an idiom
“In the grand scheme of things…”, said the client. I will never forget this. During a call we had, this is the first time I heard it. It has a nice ring. I like it. Although, I was mistaken in assuming what it means.
For the longest period of time, I assumed that what the client meant was a bird’s eye view of things. What it meant was to see everything in a bigger perspective and see how will it impact what we were trying to do. Well, again I was mistaken
In a discussion in Quora, it means that when you put things in perspective, taking everything into account, sometimes what has previously been considered significant isn’t quite significant. If I would simply put it, and tell me if I am wrong, that what we thought was previously impacting may not be important now to what we are trying to accomplish.
Which would mean what the client said is to focus our attention on what really matters. (Funny, that is not what happened. Maybe that client does not understand the meaning of the idiom too). The idiom is saying not to worry or not to sweat the small stuff as it brings little impact to the goal.
The client is not a native speaker. And while that person is very fluent in the English language, still the culture and background affect the meaning. The meaning did not reach the audience as the recipients did not understand the idiom. It just created confusion afterward.
Understand by asking questions
The only way to get out of this barrier is to ask questions. When we ask questions, we put in words what we understood and try to get clarity. Assuming that we have a clear grasp of what the other person is saying most often that not result in miscommunication. In my examples above, I could have clarified with my boss if removing the client from my plate was an option and have gotten clarity if that could happen. Or from the idiom the client had mentioned, I could have asked what our focus of attention would be.
Remembering these, I am now always asking questions about things I am not sure about. In my current job, at the time I am writing this, I always ask my boss questions just to be sure we are in sync with what we want to do. There are times I forget. Of course, I am not perfect. But still, I try to do it. This made our work more streamlined and purposeful. We are aligned with the specifics and together we are able to solve any challenges that come our way.
The barrier can be broken
I am writing this for everyone who uses the English language as a means of communication. I am directing this to those who use it at work since we all come from different backgrounds, cultures, and races. We forget that it is not our first language. While we thought we are so fluent, we may mean another by saying another thing. It is so cool to be able to talk to different races through one effective international language. However, we must remember that it is not our primary language. We make mistakes. Our meaning is misconstrued. Eventually, it can result in misunderstanding.
So, we need to ask questions to break the barrier. Instead of assuming, we ask for clarity. Instead of thinking we have a clear grasp of the language, we clarify. We can never be right all the time. That is okay. By asking questions, we get to understand the real message behind vague assumptions.
Lastly, you may be thinking it is embarrassing. You may think that the other person may think of you as less of a person. Don’t. It actually makes you a better person. Assuming and misunderstanding? These make you ineffective. Asking and getting clarity? Now, these make you a better person to work with. So, don’t be scared. Become better than you yesterday.
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