Supplemental Information

"Hot Sockets" of Communication Noise

Written by Kay Clifford, University of Michigan.
Permission granted for use at this NAFSA National 2006 session.

Hot Sockets for Majority-Culture North Americans Communicating with Others

• People who take too much time
• People who act too independent
• People who are too emotional
• People who stand too close
• People who don’t come to the point
• People who act as though they have no control over what happens to them
• People who use titles, honorifics, last names, and who expect to be treated in a special way because of their status
• People who don’t look you in the eyes when they speak to you
• People who do not seem to be able to make decisions

Hot Sockets for Others Communicating with Majority-Culture North Americans

• People who do not give you enough time
• People who do not give you enough help
• People who expect you to go out and find what you need
• People who seem cold, insincere, and too rational
• People who seem artificial, insincere and uncaring
• People who want you to stand too far away
• People who seem to come rudely to the point
• People who refuse by saying no directly
• People who seem aggressive and controlling
• People who call you by your first name, even strangers, when they do not really know you
• People who seem patronizing, and disrespectful of your status
• People who want you to look them directly in they eyes and who look directly in yours
• People who expect you to do everything by yourself