Multilingual Team Communication

Thank you, Danae Perez, PhD, for this article; it’s invigorating and gives me a new layer, in particular with this reminders: English, as a novella lingua franca, is not perceived in the same way everywhere, especially considering the impact that English-speaking (colonising) cultures have had on non-native speakers. Living mostly in French, Dutch, and English, I am drawn to the specificities of multilingualism. This juggling sharpens sensitivity to cultural differences (even if my FR, NL, and EN “cultures” aren’t so far apart). It's obvious that multicultural teams literally do not speak the "same language". However, even monolingual teams do not truly speak the same language. One reason is the specialisation culture you mention; the others stem from the magnificent complexity of communication itself. Therefore, every team operates in communicative pluralism. My point: knowing the amount of effort companies invest in their products, it’s astonishing how often they leave their communication culture (partially) to chance. Again, thank you for this article. PS: To improve team communication, I’d add that leaders should reflect on their own conditioning and how it may influence their reactions.