I love taking the best from my Latino and Anglo worlds to create my own, unique style. After decades of going back and forth between Latino and Anglo social circles, personally and professionally, I have learned to switch my communication style depending on my audience. I don't want to stereotype because I know that personality and what Latin American country we come from makes a big difference, but overall, I find that there are 3 main differences between American and Latino communication styles.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Would you stay in a loveless marriage for the sake of your kids?
__Non-verbal expression
__Mi gringo signs off on notes he sends me with "el seco." His facial expressions and non-verbal communication send signals that he's stuffy, cold, serious or even unfriendly. He's really not! But when you compare him to mi familia and my Latino friends, who are typically demonstrative, affective and lively, I guess he does come across that way. Gringos seem to either love my expressive personality–or they find it overwhelming. In business, I've learned to tone it down and adjust my volume!
__Getting to the point
__Working for corporate America has taught me to be an effective speaker, American style. When I'm with Latinos I find that we tend to talk a lot, we tend to go off on tangents, we interrupt and even talk over each other. When I am in business meetings with Americanos, I use sound bites, I speak linearly and I get to the main point of my conversation almost immediately. I've learned that listening and less talk can be even more effective than going on and on, in circles!
__Different storytelling styles
__I feel like Latinos are much more animated when we tell stories. And, perhaps because of our pack (rather than individualistic) mentality, we tend to generalize based on one person's experience. This approach combined with a less structured style leads to stories that seem exaggerated or even unreal to our Anglo audience. Gringos are more structured and back everything up with hard data and facts. This is another area where I've had lots of lessons learned, especially at work. I have found that blending the communication styles from my two cultures makes my storytelling effective but also engaging, authentic and.. con calor humano. I also find that humor and the typical positive and lively disposition that Latinos have work well with Anglo audiences!
Image via Thinkstock
