If you’re in 🇨🇦 Canada like me, Happy Canada Day! If you’re 🇺🇸 American, Happy 4th of July!
Wherever in the 🌎 world you are, thank you for being a part of this Talk About Talk global community.
Here are the top 10 countries that tune in to the Talk About Talk podcast:
- 🇺🇸 USA (49%)
- 🇨🇦 Canada (13%)
- 🇦🇺 Australia (6%)
- 🇬🇧 U.K.
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- 🇵🇭 Philipines
Lately, I’ve been hearing more questions about communication across cultures than ever before. These questions come from podcast listeners, coaching clients, and workshop audience members from all over the world. What thinking inspires these questions?
- I’m working in a culture that feels unfamiliar.
- English isn’t my first language. I’m worried about my accent.
- I frequently find myself sitting in meetings wondering whether my idea is good enough to share…
These questions are all rooted in the same challenge:
This is why I reached out to 🇬🇧U.K.-based, fellow communication coach and cultural intelligence expert Victoria Rennoldson. We talked about accents, cultural faux-pas, confidence, speaking up, and more.
Here are 3 ideas that stood out for me from our conversation :
- “Said is better than perfect”
- The 4 traits of effective global communicators
- Your differences (including your accent) may be your strength!
1️⃣ “Said Is Better Than Perfect”
This was one of Victoria’s most memorable messages, and I suspect it will resonate with you.
Too often, we hold back because we’re trying to find the perfect wording, the perfect timing, or the perfect idea.
Meanwhile, the conversation moves on. And your comment doesn’t get said.
Ugh.
Victoria’s advice is simple:
In other words, your contribution doesn’t need to be flawless to be valuable.
Do YOU struggle to speak up?
I have a free resource for you: 10 strategies to help you speak up in a meeting.
See #6 of 10 on this list:
6. Adjust your definition of CONTRIBUTION. Your comment does not have to be a breakthrough!
In other words, “said is better than perfect”!
Perfectly said, Victoria!
2️⃣ The Four Traits of Effective Global Communicators
I asked Victoria: “What separates truly effective global communicators from everyone else?”
Her answer was refreshingly clear. Victoria highlights four capabilities of effective global communicators:
- Confidence Not confidence as a personality trait, but confidence as a practice. As Victoria put it, confidence is something you work on. It is not something you’re simply born with.
- Clarity Clear thinking leads to clear and precise communication. Whether you’re presenting, leading a meeting, or having a difficult conversation, clarity matters.
- Challenging Conversations Challenging conversations are unavoidable, especially across cultures, and knowing how to navigate them sets great leaders apart. The ability to navigate disagreement, feedback, conflict, and difficult topics becomes increasingly important as you advance in your career.
- Connection Ultimately, communication is about connecting human to human. Building trust, understanding others, and creating meaningful relationships remain essential leadership skills.
OK, so she violated “The Power of 3,” but all four capabilities are necessary, don’t you agree? And don’t you love the alliteration?
Here’s the real question:
Which of these four capabilities represents your biggest opportunity?
THAT’s where you should focus.
3️⃣ Your Differences (Including Your Accent) May Be Your Strength
Do you have an accent?
That’s a trick question. We all have an accent. It’s just that our accent becomes salient when we’re in an environment where our accent is unique compared to others.
Victoria and I have both been asked by clients to help them “erase” their accent. We decline.
We concur on this point:
Your goal is not to become someone else.
Your goal is to communicate as the best version of yourself.
That includes your name, your experiences, your perspective, your story, and yes, your accent. Your accent serves as evidence of your global perspective.
This is what I call controlling your narrative.
Victoria offered this final reminder that’s worth repeating:
“You are in the room for a reason” 
Your ideas, perspectives, and experiences bring value.
But only if they’re heard.
If you’d like to hear our full conversation, including practical advice for speaking up in meetings, navigating cultural differences, leading diverse teams, and communicating with confidence, I invite you to listen to the episode. Listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
This week I’m going to record the Q&A episode that I keep talking about. This is your chance to ask me a communication skills question that I will answer in podcast episode. Please REPLY to this email with your questions.
I love hearing from you!
“TALK” soon,
Dr. Andrea Wojnicki Executive Communication Coach – Talk About Talk
