Christine discusses accent bias with Heather Hansen, an expert on cultural inclusion and communication. They explore how accents impact perceptions, unconscious bias, and career advancement. Heather shares stories of being told her Danish accent was "charming" in business meetings and feeling like she would always be seen as a foreigner in Denmark. They discuss the dominance of Western leadership styles, the myth of the "perfect" English speaker, and how psychological safety may not translate across cultures. Heather explains authentic adaptability and provides tips for developing self-awareness and being a conversational ally at work.  CHRISTINE AND HEATHER DISCUSS Accent bias, its unconscious nature and the ways awareness can mitigate it. How accents impact perceptions of capability in business.  Why comments on accents diminish power.  Western cultural spillover which doesn't necessarily work in all cultures. Self-awareness and the reality of understanding your values.  How to listen beyond accents and invite others into conversations to be an ally. BEST MOMENTS "89 per cent of the people in their survey believed that others had made subconscious judgments about them. based on their accent or how they speak." "When we hear the accent, we're immediately placing them into all of those boxes. The minute we make a decision based on the boxes, that's when it can become discriminatory." "Imagine being in a business meeting and there's a man presenting, talking about his topic. He's speaking in a language other than his first, in the local language of the area, and some other man pipes up in the middle of the meeting and says, Oh, my goodness, your accent is so cute." "My authentic self at home with my family is very different from what I feel is my authentic self on a stage speaking, or in a business meeting. I am still bringing my authentic self to the table, but the way that I change my behaviour, my vocabulary, my speaking style is very adaptable." “I can go anywhere in the world, attempt any language and say, 'if it's too hard to understand me, why don't we just speak English?' And I get all of my power back. I'm now the one in charge. I'm the one who's confident.” ABOUT THE GUEST Heather helps multinational companies enhance collaboration, innovation and inclusion across their global teams through greater understanding and stronger, more efficient communication policies. She focuses on fostering unmuted communication cultures where every voice is heard, resulting in greater inclusion, innovation and efficiency across remote and global teams. Along with private leadership communication coaching, Heather facilitates group training courses and consults on a number of topics related to global communication. Heather is also an External Industry Expert for NUS Business School’s Executive Education programs where she runs modules on communication, presentation, and storytelling skills. https://heatherhansen.com/books/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hansenheather/ ABOUT THE HOST Christine teaches individuals and organisations how to unlock the power of inclusive expression across teams, enhancing awareness, understanding and collaboration. She focuses on developing neuroculturally communicative teams in which every individual has the confidence to speak, resulting in greater efficiency, accuracy and productivity. Offering cultural profiling using “Culture Active: The Lewis Model”, Christine teaches those who "walk their diversity and inclusion talk”. Alongside individual communication coaching, she designs training programmes and workshops on a number of topics related to Neurocultural Communication.  In the Connected Communication Supporters’ Club, Christine shares unpublished public speaking and communication training, aiming to make communication expertise accessible to all.   Supporters’ Club: www.connectedcommunication.club  Website: www.languagecouragecoaching.com  Instagram: www.inst