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September 09, 2009

How multicultural are you?

It’s 4:45 p.m. and I’m sitting in an airport waiting lounge. The man across from me is speaking French into his cell phone. The man to my left is also speaking French to a chic-looking female companion. All this French is not surprising, because the airport is in Toronto, and the passengers are waiting for their flight to Montreal.

I began my workday this morning at 6 a.m., facilitating a focus group with employees in Singapore, Japan and China. None of the participants were native English speakers, but all understood English quite well; some spoke a bit haltingly, but could clearly articulate their viewpoints in what for them was their second (or third) language.

Last night I flew from Chicago to Toronto. The plane was full of Asian-Americans, Asian-Canadians or just Asians. I was in the aisle seat, and the Chinese couple that sat next to me had an adorable baby girl—about 9 months old—whom they spoke to in both English and Chinese. The baby cooed in both languages, as far as I could tell.

Yesterday morning I took a flight from Newark Airport to Chicago. The passengers included a large group of college students who appeared to be Indian or of Indian descent. Like college students everywhere, they were sometimes silly and sometimes serious—what was different is that they exhibited this behavior in two languages simultaneously.

Welcome to life in the 21st Century. My experience is not unusual for how I work and where I live—I can stay in New Jersey and hear Spanish, Russian, Pakistani, Arabic and about 12 other languages without venturing very far—but it may be quite different from what you encounter every day.

Are you ready for how the world is changing? If all the people I encountered on my trip were your employees, could you communicate with them effectively? Would you understand their common needs and their unique preferences?

You may only speak one language, but do you understand multiculturalism?

P.S. Speaking of multiculturalism, did you know that tastes in candy vary dramatically from country to country? Here's a fascinating slide show from BusinessWeek showing confectionery best sellers.

Posted by Alison Davis at September 9, 2009 05:07 PM