I found the article, “Ten Commandments of Intercultural Communication,” to be very interesting and helpful. It definitely applies to the job and career that I have chosen with the Coast Guard. My current position is doing security boardings on foreign vessels that want to come into the Port of New Orleans. This can be a little intimidating for the crew of the vessel that we are boarding. Our teams are fully decked out with Law Enforcement gear, including a firearm. This alone makes for a stressful situation, then add to it that many of the crew do not speak English.
I have learned that on these kinds of boardings it is key to speak slowly for them to try and get what you are saying and listen as carefully as I can. We train our teams to understand that just because they do not speak English does not mean that they are not smart; don’t talk to them like they are stupid, because anyone can pick up on that.
Sometimes when we do boardings I have to make sure that I am not the one doing the talking. Many of these vessels come from countries where women are second rate citizens. They don’t care that I am armed or that I can prevent their vessel from entering our waters, they just don’t want anything to do with me. To make sure that I do create an unnecessary situation I can simply let my male counterpart do the talking.
It is really important to realize that people come from different backgrounds. Understanding their culture as much as possible can create a friendlier situation than if you just expect them to conform to our culture. Respect them and hopefully in return they will cooperate and respect you as well.
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