Principle 1: If a person cannot understand your language - speak the same words louder and slower - and if that fails - shout at them!
I live and work in an excitingly (culturally and ethnically) diverse corner of Australia. In the space of a five minute walk I hear numerous languages spoken, see signs in as many scripts, pass shops selling unrecognisable (and secret) goods and smell foods that have the ability to simultaneously test the gag reflex or stimulate the saliva glands.
Lot's of good food too - on any given day I might go to China, then Sri Lanka, Portugal, Vietnam, Greece, Turkey, India, Italy, Mongolia, Uzbekistan... Preston is a great place to live.
This colourful mosaic of culture brings with it exciting challenges for me. Let's assume I have the right to engage people in dialogue on a deeper level than the menu, (which is another topic). How do I make relevant and attractive: what I do, the reason I do it, and the relationship that drives it, without resorting to the tried and true methods of paternalism, or tokenism?
As I waited in line at the bank I saw one method of communication. A young woman who was obviously nervous about her transaction was trying to withdraw some of her money, but the teller must have been having a bad day. When it became obvious that the young woman was not understanding the teller repeated the same phrase louder and slower until she was practically shouting at the woman.
What makes us think that if a person doesn't understand our language that shouting louder and slower will make a difference? (And let's be honest we all do it!) Maybe we need to find new ways of communicating. We have an amazingly important message - let's find ways of communicating that offer the hearer respect and rather than scaring them off the premises, eases their fears, shows them acceptance and empowers them to try again.
