I was struck by author Malcolm Gladwell’s desicription of “Rapid Cognition” in the book blink, and how he used the example of the car salesman to show how ignoring sub-conscious ‘knee-jerk’ reactions to people can negatively impact the bottom line. (e.g. assuming someone won’t be buying a car strictly from their appearance/first impression.) When we (social…
DetailsThis Super Bowl Commercial for Snapshot of America could be a snapshot of unconscious bias in the American workforce. The bosses are white, male and older and all people of color (or those with alternative style) are in supporting positions and/or marginalized. It’s so steretypical that it’s funny, and I”m not sure if that’s “odd” funny…
DetailsI’m not talking about staged arguments where each side has planned out what they will say in advance, or actual physical brawls, but good, old fashioned discussion of philosophical ideals, where conversation evolves as each side is informed and inspired by the other. “Argument is good, no?” is actually a direct quote from my Post…
DetailsMy sister is an animal rights activist (she’s done amazing work on animal rescue both in New Orleans and Haiti, and no one is better at letter writing campaigns than her nonprofit Kinship Circle) so perhaps this ad is a shout out to her (on top of our Vegan Thankgiving), or perhpas it’s just a little…
DetailsRemember as a kid trying to read your friends’ minds at a slumber party? For my 10th birthday, it came in between “Truth or Dare” and the Séance. Now flash forward to the future (past “Men Who Stare at Goats“), where new technology potentially could erase communication barriers caused by traditional language differences. The program,…
DetailsIt’s funny that after presenting a workshop on communication styles, I’m obsessing about my communication style. I think it’s because I’m more aware now that I’m an “emotive-intuitive” communicator (I speak passionately about things I believe in and like to throw out big ideas as they come to me) and the “norm” for the business…
DetailsCall me crazy, but I’m not getting this new ad and/or strategy by Sid Lee for adidas Originals, that ties Beckham and Snoop Dogg to Star Wars…to sell shoes…to whom? From a multicultural perspective, pairing Beckham and Snoop in a cool urban landscape teaming with life is certainly hip, bringing together pop icons from diverse…
DetailsIf you have to ask your mom if you can join a rap band, chances are you’re not ready. But that was not the case for Yoram Bejorano, of the Hamburg based band Coincidence that plays Yiddish melodies, mostly from the past, when approached by Kutlu Yurtseven, a Turkish immigrant rapper from the Cologne based…
DetailsThanks to Intercultural Talk contributer Dillon, age 8, who is learning to recognize great multicultural advertising. “I chose it because it showed that in English culture it’s polite to finish everything, but in Chinese culture they think you want more if you finish everything,” said Dillon. Look at the fun (depending on your perspective) that ensues when…
DetailsI’m always leery of certain words that seem out of context when speaking in a language other than my own. So when the word “amor” (love) kept coming up in my conversation in Spanish with the Super Shuttle driver on the way to LaGuardia Airport Sunday night, I finally stopped and said “No comprendo”…I don’t…
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