Cultural Differences in Communication Skills 

CONVENTIONS FOR COURTESY: Each culture has its own conventions for courtesies such as how to greet people, use of first names and titles etc.  For example, "How are you?" is usually not a real questions, but a greeting.  Some people from other cultures may, however, find us rude when we ask the question and don't wait for an answer.

SEQUENCE OF THOUGHT: How people arrange information differs from culture to culture.  Some people's communication and thought patterns are very direct and liner.  Other cultures may be more tangential or circular in their thinking and presentation.
SEQUENCE OF TOPICS: Cultural differences impact the order of topics of conversation.  For example, some cultures prefer to get right down to business and not mix business with pleasure.  Other cultures will not do business until some personal issues or social conversation has occurred.
LOGIC VS EMOTION: To some people, logic, structure and accuracy are essential in communications.  To others, a more intuitive, emotional, "go with the flow" approach is more valued.  While the less orderly communicator may appear disorganized and inefficient to some, the very precise, detail oriented speaker may seem cold, uncaring and manipulative to others.
GETTING TO THE POINT:  In some cultures, people prefer to start with the main point or headline and then get into the details.  In other cultures, storytelling plays an important role.  People prefer to start with the details and lead up to the main point.
ASSERTIVENESS:  People may be offended by communicators who are more assertive than is acceptable in their culture.  Gender and age are often factors in how people interpret assertiveness and its appropriateness.
CANDOR:  In some cultures, expressing one's true feelings is essential and respected.  In other cultures, people are not less honest, but have their own different ways of expressing their true feelings that may be less direct or non-verbal.  Cultures will also differ on what situations are appropriate for sharing true feelings and strong opinions.

ACCENT:  Some accents impress people and have positive connotations while other accents create negative impressions.  Some Americans think that those who speak English with non-Western European accents are less intelligent and less competent.
CONCISE SPEECH:  Some people feel that the more and bigger words and the longer and more complex sentences one uses and makes, the more impressive they will be.  Some cultures also interpret less concise speakers as being more committed to the issues they are discussing.  Cultures valuing concise speech may view these people as long winded or egotistical.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION:  Even if people from other cultures speak English well and have lived here for a long time, they may retain much of their original culture's non-verbal communication patterns.  For example, eye contact is considered rude or disrespectful in some cultures while others view it as open and honest.  Most cultures have different norms for whom and how we touch others.  Loudness, pitch and physical proximity with another person are also culturally prescribed.