To be a good Immigration Attorney, Cultural Fluency can be more important than Foreign Language skills. You can always get a translator to help you with the latter. However, understanding:
- How a client communicates verbally and non-verbally,
- How direct they are in their communications,
- What sensitivities they have to specific topics and methods of interactions,
- How they learn,
- How they handle leadership and being led,
- How Power/Status dynamics work in their culture,
- How their perception of time is, and more
Will mean the difference between getting hired by a client and being able to execute their case successfully or not.
Thankfully in the diverse environment of Southern Calfornia, the variety of daily cultural interactions helps to teach many of these differences. But there is always more to learn. Author Erin Meyer does a great job giving specific examples where these issues come up. Her example of how Iranians interact and communicate was precisely right.
#Immigration #Communication #Book #Culture #Knowledge
