Cultural manners

Every day in our culturally diverse world, we interact with people who may be different from ourselves. They may speak different languages, have different cultural attitudes and historical backgrounds. Not only is it important to respect these differences, but take the opportunity to learn more about other cultures in order to facilitate communication and understanding. Be patient. Keep in mind the other person may translate what you say into his own language in order to understand it and then must translate his response from his language into English to reply. In conversation, avoid slang, acronyms, colloquial expressions and humour, which is often misunderstood. Show sensitivity, speak more slowly if necessary, and check for understanding. If the customer’s conversation is very formal or serious, follow that lead and match their behaviour.