An interview about corporate communications and how the language barrier can make it easier or harder takes a beautiful turn to focus on how the very things that make us human can help us communicate even if the language skills are limited.

Barbara Boldt and I met on LinkedIn. We exchanged comments and messages, and soon she invited me to her podcast “Confluence”. We had planned on talking about management, corporate dynamics, and language, highlighting the role culture plays in communications and relationships.

But, being the reflective, sensitive humans we are, the conversation took a different path after a few minutes. “We want to be heard, we want to be seen, we want to be loved, we want to be respected, and the moment you connect with other people from that place, you connect with the other human.”

Common humanity is a term I learned when I was doing the Mindful Self-Compassion training, and it opened my eyes to a simple, yet powerful, reality. We are all in the pursue of the same feelings of belonging, connection, and love, whether we speak in the same language or not, whether we come from the same city, country, or region or not.

“Sometimes there might be a language barrier…But when we are interacting, it becomes clear we are talking about the same thing and that helps you get through.”

You can learn a new language, a new skill, and practice until you get really good at it. Now, being human is who you are and what makes you one of us. It is the foundation of all relationships, all interactions, and all communications.

Of course being in the process of learning something new can seem difficult, and many of us tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect at everything we do. The important thing throughout the learning process is to remember that you are still a human, “understand that you are in the process of getting better… Keep your humanity, show it, and improve what can be improved.”

This is why Comunicar para Inspirar exists: to find the right words to reflect the humanity behind a project, initiative or idea. Let’s improve how you tell the story preserving the emotions and feelings that give color and shape to it.