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#34: Curiosity in Community Venues with Kate Nagle Caraluzzo

#34: Curiosity in Community Venues with Kate Nagle Caraluzzo

In Episode 34 of the Curiosity at Work podcast, Dr. Julie Pham speaks with Kate Nagel-Caraluzzo, Executive Director of Town Hall Seattle, about curiosity in nonprofit leadership and arts and culture spaces.

Town Hall Seattle serves as a hub for civic dialogue, performances, author talks, and diverse community programming. Behind every event is a complex operation balancing logistics, neutrality, responsiveness, and mission.

In this conversation, they explore:

• Why curiosity is essential for effective nonprofit leadership
• The challenge of maintaining a neutral venue for diverse perspectives
• How flexibility and responsiveness support community engagement
• Why the journey to an answer can matter more than the answer itself
• How curiosity helps leaders navigate complex decisions
• The role of empathy and open-mindedness in strategic planning

One line that captures the spirit of the episode:
“Curiosity is your only ticket in.”

Leadership in community spaces requires more than event management. It requires humility, experimentation, and the willingness to ask, How else could we do this?

🎧 Listen to Episode 34 of Curiosity at Work and go behind the scenes at Town Hall Seattle to explore curiosity in action.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

More Curiosity at Work episodes at: https://curiositybased.com/category/curiosity-at-work-podcast/

#CuriosityAtWork #CuriosityBased #NonprofitLeadership #ArtsAndCulture #CommunityEngagement #CivicLeadership #TownHallSeattle #EventManagement #StrategicLeadership #OrganizationalCulture #PracticeCuriosity #SeattleNonprofits

Acknowledging the bitter and sweet

Julie’s friend’s orange bloom bush is thriving once again after it was moved from a crowded garden and replanted in a more spacious location with more room to grow.

I recently reconnected with my friend, “Colleen,” and was so inspired with how she initiated a major life transition that I asked if I could share her story here.

Listen to Julie read this newsletter on YouTube

Colleen spent most of her life building a family and running a business with her husband. Then, about eight years ago, they divorced and ended their business together. After employing sizable teams for years, she had to get a job at a small start-up that shut down shortly thereafter. She went to another company that also had massive layoffs, then another one. After each layoff, it became harder and harder to get the next job. For another 18 months, she tried to find employment with no success. As a woman in her early sixties, she suspected she was dealing with ageism in an expensive city dominated by young professionals. 

Colleen was withering. She was living on her dwindling savings. She began questioning her self-worth. Her kids were grown and didn’t seem to need her anymore, either. The continual rejection exhausted her. 

Earlier this spring, she realized she needed to change her environment, even though it meant leaving behind everything that she knew. So, Colleen rented out her little house, packed her car with a few belongings and moved to a small tourist town in another state where there were more people her age. If it didn’t work out there, she reasoned at least it was a change from stagnating where she was. It was the first time in her life she prioritized her own needs. 

Within a week in the new town, she found a part-time retail job and a one-bedroom apartment. 

Within two months, she secured a good job that made use of leadership experience.

When Colleen recounted her story, what surprised me was her lack of bitterness. “(Seattle) was good to me for a long time. I still love it,” she said. “But it’s not the place for me any more. I had to admit that and move on.” 

I am a big fan of finding the “lessons learned” from bad experiences. But, I realized that focusing on the bad may reduce these experiences to being useful only for what they teach us not to do. Colleen reminded me to acknowledge how many of those same experiences were also once sources of joy.

Honoring the good times doesn’t mean downplaying the bad times. We can accept that our experiences are made up of both “bitter” and “sweet” parts, hence the word “bittersweet.”

The way Colleen uprooted her life and started over in a new environment reminded me of a friend’s once healthy plant that got crowded out by other plants and became sick. Sometimes we also get crowded out and have to transplant ourselves to a place that gives us more space to grow. Many of us will find that we have to re-root ourselves in new environments, workplaces, relationships to continue to thrive. 

When have you had to “re-plant” yourself so that you could thrive again? Have you acknowledged both the bitter and sweet of the former experiences?

I’d love to hear what these reflections brought up for you.

Best,

Nonprofit MBA

In this episode of Nonprofit MBA podcast, Julie and Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions explore The 7 Forms of Respect® framework, helping leaders understand and incorporate respect into their culture to reduce burnout.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #RespectAtWork #InclusiveLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #Belonging #CuriosityBased

Check out more Nonprofit MBA podcasts: https://nonprofitmba.libsyn.com/

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

SpeakUP! International

In this SpeakUP! International podcast, Julie shares her journey from South Vietnam to Seattle. Her family’s escape from communism is a defining moment that has deeply influenced her career. Julie’s journey offers valuable insights for aspiring authors and researchers, emphasizing the significance of setting one’s own terms and the benefits of self-publishing.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #RespectAtWork #InclusiveLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #Belonging #CuriosityBased

Check out more SpeakUp! International podcasts: https://www.speakuppodcast.ca/

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

What I learned by trying to dance like Michael Jackson

Julie following along to the video, “BEAT IT” Dance ❤️ Michael Jackson ❤️ Beginner Dance Tutorial ❤️ Step-by-Step Choreography.” The instructor has her back to the viewer.

Is there something you’ve been struggling to learn? Maybe you should look at how you’ve been learning it. I just realized this for myself. 

Listen to Julie read this newsletter on YouTube

When the biopic of Michael Jackson came out, I went to see it three times. I was inspired by how the lead actor, Jaafar Jackson (Michael’s nephew), took two years to learn how to dance like Michael Jackson. So, I decided to look up tutorials on how to do some “MJ” moves myself.

I’ve always been a big fan of Michael Jackson’s music. Whenever Billie Jean plays at weddings, I’m the first person on the dance floor. What I lack in skills as a dancer, I make up for in enthusiasm. But, when I’ve taken group dance lessons as an adult, I’ve felt frustrated because I couldn’t keep up with the other adult learners. I figured that I must actually be uncoordinated. The movie inspired me to try again, and also to exercise different parts of my brain.

There are a lot of tutorials on how to mimic Michael Jackson’s moves on YouTube. With Carrie and her YouTube channel, Beginning Dance Tutorials, I was able to learn the basic steps of “Beat It” in a 20 min video. I couldn’t believe it. 

What changed? 

After comparing this video to others, I realized that Carrie, the instructor, had her back to me, which meant I was shadowing her as we danced in the same direction. In almost every other tutorial, the teacher is facing the camera, like in a mirror. It made me realize that my real life dance instructors also faced me. This observation gave me an epiphany. What I thought was my own lack of coordination was actually my brain’s inability to make the cognitive flip to translate the instructor’s moves to how I should move because we were facing opposite directions.

I imagine feeling like someone who is diagnosed with dyslexia that comes to understand why it’s hard for them to read in a standard way. Once I learned how I learn differently, I knew I was capable of mimicking moves as long as I shadowed from behind.

As someone who conducts training, it reminds me to try to approach teaching my concepts in a variety of different ways to accommodate different learning styles.

Have you ever had this experience of discovering you just needed a different teaching style? Or is there something with which you’ve been frustrated that you can’t learn? Maybe you just need to explore what is making it difficult for you to learn.

I’d love to hear from you. something because it feels like you risk rejection? If so, please tell me about it, or ask away. I’d love to hear from you. 

Best,

Real People. Real Stories.

Ever felt like you didn’t quite belong, even in a place that should feel like home? Dr. Julie Pham shares her powerful story on the Real People. Real Stories. podcast with host Rena Rico. Julie recounts her experience studying in Vietnam, expecting to feel a deep connection, but instead finding herself navigating feelings of being a foreigner.

This episode dives into the complexities of identity, culture, and the immigrant journey. It’s a must-listen for anyone who has grappled with language barriers or the search for belonging.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#realpeoplerealstories #podcast #twocultures #identity #vietnameseamerican #immigrantjourney #belonging #culture #language

Check out more Real People. Real Stories. podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ufrcv8Ytxdfm2Ic2UEen8

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Attuned – The State of Motivation Report 2026

Dr. Julie Pham is quoted in the “The State of Motivation Report 2026.” It draws data from Attuned users around the world, providing a unique snapshot of how global motivational trends change from year to year, revealing what’s top of the agenda for employees right now, uncovering the issues transforming the modern workplace, and showing how motivational needs vary across generations and genders.

Read the Report

#LeadershipInsights #EmployeeMotivation #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceCulture #CuriosityBased #OrganizationalDevelopment #PeopleAndCulture #ThoughtLeadership

Learn more about Attuned: https://www.attuned.ai/product/ 

Explore more press featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Elsplend Realities

On Elsplend Realities podcast, host ELO Oghenevwede Splendour sits down with Dr. Julie Pham to explore how curiosity can deepen respect and connection. Julie shares reflections on:

  • Rethinking respect across identities and experiences
  • How humility and self-awareness shape better collaboration
  • Why small shifts in perspective can change how we relate to others

A thoughtful listen for anyone navigating difference with more intention.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #RespectAtWork #InclusiveLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #Belonging #CuriosityBased

Check out more Elsplend Realities podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elsplend-realities/id1845530618

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

What’s in Your Neighborhood?

What if connection isn’t about impressing others—but inviting them in as you are? On What’s in Your Neighborhood? podcast featuring Dr. Julie Pham, host Melanie Vargas sits down with Julie, for a deeply personal conversation on identity, belonging, and shifting from scarcity to abundance.

Julie shares reflections on:

  • Letting go of comparison and “not enough” thinking
  • Redefining what it means to host, connect, and belong
  • Why honest, imperfect connection is often what people remember most

A thoughtful listen for anyone rethinking what “enough” looks like.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #Belonging #WorkplaceCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #AuthenticConnection #CuriosityBased

Check out more What’s in your neighborhood? Podcast: https://whatsinyourneighborhood.org/neighborhood-podcast

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Canvas Rebel

What does it look like to leave a great job—and choose uncertainty on purpose?

In a recent feature with Canvas Rebel, Julie reflects on the risks, lessons, and mindset behind building a business rooted in curiosity.

A few themes that stand out:

  • Practicing curiosity is a skill—not a personality trait
  • Growth requires both learning and unlearning
  • Sometimes progress looks like letting something go to save what matters most

A thoughtful read for anyone building, leading, or rethinking what success looks like.nd building workplaces where more people can thrive.

Read the Full Interview

#CuriosityAtWork #Entrepreneurship #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #LearningOrganizations #CuriosityBased

Check out Canvas Rebel magazine: https://canvasrebel.com/

Explore more press featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Thriving in Intersectionality

What if the way you communicate at work isn’t code-switching — it’s strategic leadership? In the latest episode of Thriving in Intersectionality podcast, Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Dr. Julie Pham for a conversation that will shift how you think about identity, belonging, and what it means to lead.

Julie reframes code-switching not as assimilation, but as intentional communication. She introduces her 7 Forms of Respect® framework — a powerful reminder that respect isn’t one-size-fits-all. How it’s expressed, given, and received is deeply shaped by culture, lived experience, and personal history.

They also explore:

  • The difference between refugee and immigrant experiences — and why it matters in the workplace
  • “Push and pull” migration factors and how they show up in professional identity
  • Why success should be defined by how it feels, not just how it look
  • Managing energy (not just time) as a leadership practice
  • The power of asking for help as a career growth strategy

This episode is a masterclass in seeing the whole person behind the professional — and building workplaces where more people can thrive.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#ThrivingInIntersectionality #CuriosityBased #DEI #InclusiveLeadership #CodeSwitching #SevenFormsOfRespect #Leadership #Belonging #WorkplaceCulture #RefugeeStories

Check out more Thriving in Intersectionality podcast: https://thrivinginintersectionality.buzzsprout.com/ 

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Workplaces That Work

Most leaders think they’re being respectful. But intention and impact are not the same thing. Dr. Julie Pham joined Dr. Lola Adeyemo on a recent episode of Workplaces That Work podcast to dig into one of the most misunderstood dynamics in professional life: What respect actually looks like at work, and why so many teams get it wrong.

The core problem? Without a shared understanding of respect, even well-meaning leaders can create friction, erode trust, and leave team members feeling unseen — all without realizing it.

  • In this conversation, Julie and Dr. Lola explore:
  • How misaligned expectations quietly create tension on teams
  • The role of curiosity in stronger leadership and team dynamics
  • Why good intentions don’t guarantee good impact
  • Practical ways to build shared understanding across diverse teams

If you lead people — or work alongside them — this episode will challenge how you think about respect and how you practice it every day.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityBased #7FormsOfRespect #WorkplacesThatWork #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #Respect #InclusiveLeadership #TeamDynamics #HR #Belonging

Check out more Workplaces that Work podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/76ql3YSMLGEEYnWuobrZ6x 

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/ 

Born without a Choice

How many decisions did you make today based on an assumption you never stopped to question? Dr. Julie Pham joined the Born Without a Choice podcast for a conversation that gets at something most of us don’t like to admit — that our quick judgments, unchecked assumptions, and lack of curiosity quietly shape how we lead, how we listen, and how we treat the people around us.

This episode is an invitation to slow down.

Julie brings her signature lens to the conversation — including insights from the 7 Forms of Respect® — exploring how understanding before reacting can fundamentally change the quality of our relationships and decisions at work and beyond.

If you’ve ever been misread, misunderstood, or caught yourself doing the same to someone else — this one is worth your time.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityBased #7FormsOfRespect #Leadership #CuriousLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #Assumptions #InclusiveLeadership #Communication 

Check out more Born Without a Choice podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/born-without-a-choice/id1890191594 

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/ 

Lifting Leaders

On a recent Lifting Leaders podcast Gems episode featuring Dr. Julie Pham, the hosts Tricia Rhine and Kristal Roberts revisit insights from their conversation with Julie about her book, “The 7 Forms of Respect®.”

After taking the 7 Forms Respect Assessment themselves, they reflect on:

  • Why respect can look wildly different across teams and cultures
  • How co-creating team norms builds stronger trust and belonging
  • The small shifts leaders can make to create healthier communication and culture

A thoughtful listen for leaders who want to lead with more awareness, clarity, and intention.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #RespectAtWork #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #InclusiveLeadership #CuriosityBased

Check out more Lifting Leaders podcast episodes: https://www.liftingleaderspodcast.com/

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Everything’s Not Black & White

In Episode 58 of Everything’s Not Black & White podcast, featuring Dr. Julie Pham, Julie sits down with hosts Lachandra Baker and Brian J Baker to explore what it actually takes to hold space for multiple truths. This is not as a philosophical exercise, but as a daily leadership practice.

She shares her Rubber Band Rule: Yes, stretch toward others, extend your respect, bridge the gap. But know where your limit is. Snapping doesn’t serve anyone.

She talks about the power of the pause, that small, deliberate moment between receiving something hard and choosing how to respond to it. And why that pause might be the most underrated leadership skill there is.

And she gets personal about her family’s story as Vietnamese refugees, about the history that didn’t make it into the textbooks, and about why leading with curiosity isn’t soft. It’s the hardest thing most of us will ever practice.

If you’ve ever navigated a room where people were holding very different versions of the same truth, this episode was made for you.

What does respect look like to you?

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#Leadership #CuriosityBased #7FormsOfRespect #OrganizationalDevelopment #EverythingsNotBlackAndWhite #Podcast #Curiosity #Respect #SelfAwareness #DEI #WorkplaceCulture 

Check out more Everything is Not Black and White podcast episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everythings-not-black-white/id1496282353

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

ManKind Podcast

Most conflicts about respect aren’t really about respect. They’re about different assumptions of what respect looks like.

On the ManKind podcast featuring Dr. Julie Pham, host Boysen Hodgson to explores why people can agree on how respect feels while having completely different ideas about what respectful behavior should be.

In this conversation, Julie shares:
• How culture, family, and life experiences shape our expectations
• Why curiosity is often the missing ingredient in difficult conversations

Whether at work, at home, or in our communities, many conflicts become easier to navigate when we get curious about what respect means to others.

What does respect look like to you?

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #LeadershipDevelopment #RespectAtWork #WorkplaceCulture #Entrepreneurship #CuriosityBased

Check out the ManKind podcast: https://mkpusa.org/category/recent-news/podcast/

Explore more podcasts featuring Dr. Julie Pham at https://curiositybased.com/press/

Asking for some help

In preparation for her next book, Julie is ordering many books through her local library, including Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer.

I’ve written and held workshops about asking for help. But, I realize I could be doing a better job of asking for help myself.

Listen to Julie read this newsletter on YouTube

Since last fall, I’ve been focused on conducting research for my next book which will focus on respect in friendships. It’s one thing to write a book. It’s another thing to market and sell one.

While I’m proud that the sales from 7 Forms of Respect®  are in the top 10% of self-published books, I dream this next book will reach many more people. I want total strangers across the country to approach respect with curiosity in everyday conversations. I envision the book being on people’s shelves and coffee tables. I hope it will lead to opportunities to grow CuriosityBased’s business and brand. And sometimes that dream seems so elusive, I wonder if it will ever happen.

Everything we’ve achieved to sell and market the 7 Forms of Respect® thus far has been through word of mouth, earned media, and consistent content creation. I recognize that to get to the next level, I’m going to have to get an agent and a traditional publisher who can distribute my book widely.

Last month, I was sharing my desire for higher distribution with another writer friend. He tried to soothe me by saying, “As long as you’re trying your hardest.” His words made me realize, “I don’t think I am trying my hardest. I don’t actually think I’m doing the things that make me uncomfortable, that risk rejection. I could be asking for a lot more help.”

This is where you come in. I have to strengthen my “platform” to prove to potential agents there’s an existing market for my work on which they can build.  

So, I am asking you for help in three simple ways: 

  1. I want to grow newsletter subscribers by 20% by the end of summer. Could you please recommend to a few people to subscribe to this newsletter?
  2. If you read the book, 7 Forms of Respect®, please review it on GoodReads and/ or Amazon. We have 95 reviews across both platforms and I’d like to get to 200 by the end of the summer. 
  3. Follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook and like or share our content.

Phew. There, I did it. I asked you for help. 

Since that conversation with my friend, I’ve risked rejection daily by directly asking people if I can add them to my newsletter subscriber list. Fortunately, everyone has said, “Yes.”

Are you struggling to ask me for help with something because it feels like you risk rejection? If so, please tell me about it, or ask away. I’d love to hear from you. 

Best,

Who taught you how to be a friend?

Julie’s father, Kim Pham, standing third from the right with his friends and supporters of their family newspaper, Nguoi Viet Tay Nac (Northwest Vietnamese News), circa 1988.

Did you observe the kinds of friendships that your parents, or whomever raised you, had while you were growing up? What did you learn from them about how to treat your own friends? My next book will focus on respect in friendships. As part of my research, I ask people these questions.

Listen to Julie read this newsletter on YouTube

While some say their caregivers explicitly taught them how to treat their friends, most say they learned through observations. There was a mix of positive and negative models of friendship. Some said their parents didn’t have friends and, as a result, they themselves didn’t learn how to form friendships until well into adulthood. Many say they had never thought about their parents’ friendships before. 

I hadn’t made the connection between my parents’ friendships and my own until I asked myself these questions. As the co-founders of the local Vietnamese newspaper, they were very involved in our immediate Vietnamese community. The line between personal and professional was thin. Many of my parents’ friends were entrepreneurs. Even the doctors and lawyers owned their own practices that served others in our refugee community. Being a friend meant supporting each other’s businesses. My brothers and I were always reminded when we went to a shop or a restaurant that it was owned by someone who advertised in the newspaper.

My parents taught me that friendship means helping each other out with whatever resources we have. This may include giving advice, making key introductions and referrals, and whenever possible, being customers. Many of my friends today are other entrepreneurs, creatives, founders, or have leadership roles at their organizations. We talk about work in the same way others talk about their hobbies or vacations. When it comes to other friends who don’t want to talk about work outside of work, I try to show respect by asking about their families and hobbies. Still, I like to be asked about CuriosityBased because my work is a core part of who I am.

What did you learn about friendship from those who raised you? How is that showing up in your expectations of respect in your own friendships now?

I’d love to hear from you. If you’re interested in having a one on one interview or participating in a focus group, please let me know.

Best,

#33: Curiosity in Musical Theater with Ariel Gomez-Bradler

#33: Curiosity in Musical Theater with Ariel Gomez-Bradler

In Curiosity at Work podcast episode 33: Curiosity in Musical Theater with Ariel Gomez-Bradler, Julie speaks with Ariel who is the Managing Director of The 5th Avenue Theatre, about curiosity in musical theater and the arts.

Theater is more than what happens on stage. It is production teams, designers, technicians, administrators, musicians, and countless behind-the-scenes roles working together to create something ephemeral and unforgettable.

In this conversation, they explore:

• How curiosity fuels creativity in theater production
• The many roles that bring a live performance to life
• The financial and operational challenges facing theaters post-pandemic
• Why supporting local theaters strengthens the entire community
• How family influences can spark a lifelong practice of curiosity

One line that captures the spirit of the episode:
“Curiosity is built into our practice.”

Live theater asks us to be present. It invites us into shared stories. It depends on local talent and community support.

When we support the arts, we are investing in connection, creativity, and community vitality.

Check out Episode 33 of Curiosity at Work and go behind the scenes to explore how curiosity shapes musical theater leadership.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

More Curiosity at Work podcast episodes can be found here: https://curiositybased.com/podcast

#CuriosityAtWork #CuriosityBased #ArtsLeadership #TheaterArts #MusicalTheater #CreativeLeadership #CommunityEngagement #SupportLocalArts #SeattleArts #OrganizationalLeadership #PracticeCuriosity #LiveTheater

Plunge into Prosperity

What if prosperity isn’t about having more — but having more freedom?

On the Plunge into Prosperity podcast hosted by Brandi Kolosky, Julie shares her journey from arriving in the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee to earning a PhD at Cambridge, running her family’s newspaper through the Great Recession, and founding CuriosityBased during the pandemic.

In this conversation, they explore:
• Why freedom is her definition of prosperity
• How curiosity evolved from gathering knowledge to a daily practice
• How the 7 Forms of Respect® can strengthen relationships at work and beyond

This is a thoughtful conversation about leadership, resilience, and building a life aligned with your values. It is thought-provoking on many deep levels and not to be missed.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST

#CuriosityAtWork #LeadershipDevelopment #RespectAtWork #WorkplaceCulture #Entrepreneurship #CuriosityBased

Low-context and high-context communication

Erin Meyer’s book, The Culture Map, with many sticky notes marking passages Julie found interesting.

Low-context and high-context communication

Listen to Julie read this newsletter on YouTube

I often get asked about the different ways that different cultures define respect. While I can share examples from lived experience, they are anecdotal. The 7 Forms of Respect® as a framework is ultimately about having curiosity around what respect means to you and others, so I avoid making any universal claims about how certain cultures define respect.

After having read Erin Meyer’s The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, I now have a book recommendation for those who want to understand how culture shows up in our interactions. Meyer shows how cultural differences exist along “eight scales that map the worlds’ cultures.” These scales are: communicating, evaluating, persuading, leading, deciding, trusting, disagreeing, and scheduling.

In the “communicating” scale, the two extremes are “low-context” and “high context,” which Meyers describes as:

Low-context: Good communication is precise, simple, and clear. Messages are expressed and understood at face value. Repetition is appreciated if it helps clarify the communication.

High-context: Good communication is sophisticated, nuanced, and layered. Messages are both spoken and read between the lines. Messages are often implied but not plainly expressed.

Meyers points out that the US has the lowest-context culture in the world, followed by Australia and Canada. The highest-context country is Japan, followed by Indonesia and Korea.

Whether a country is low context or high context is influenced by its history, population, and geography. The US is only a few hundred years old, geographically very expansive, and made up of immigrants from around the world. Low-context culture helps people communicate across such diversity. Japan is a largely homogenous, small island country with thousands of years of history. 

Low context culture prefers written documentation and visualizations to reinforce information communicated verbally. High context cultures assume shared understanding and deep listening, so someone from a high context culture may react to a written recap of a conversation by thinking, “Why are you writing this out? Do you not trust that I can remember?” If you’re interacting with someone from a high context culture, you have to listen much more carefully for what is not said. 

While my parents grew up in a high context culture (Vietnam), I realize my approach to communication is very low-context, a reflection of my American childhood. 

Where does your communication style fall on the spectrum of low to high context? I’d love to hear from you.

Best,