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Accent bias shapes whose ideas get heard, who gets hired and who advances at work. Frauke and Marie-Christine talk with Heather Hansen, founder of Global Speech Academy in Singapore, about the difference between understanding someone and judging how they sound. Drawing on research and international experience, Heather shares practical ways to navigate misunderstandings, respond to accent comments and make communication a shared responsibility.

This is the first-ever cultureXchange On Tour.

Every now and then, one of us packs a suitcase, travels to a destination and takes cultureXchange on the road. For our first stop, we’re in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Frauke joins us from Ho Chi Minh City, while Marie-Christine joins from Germany. Together with our guest Hana Bui, we go beyond the tourist experience to explore Vietnamese culture, everyday life and the unwritten rules that can be difficult to see from the outside.

Hana is an intercultural trainer, bestselling author and one of Vietnam’s leading voices on cross-cultural communication. She helps...

Intercultural learning can be seen as the development of a kind of human superpower: the ability to navigate differences in perspective, culture, and experience with awareness, empathy, and skill. In an increasingly interconnected world, this “superpower” is no longer optional; it is essential for meaningful communication, collaboration, and leadership across diverse contexts.

*Culture Chat*
In this episode, Frauke and Marie-Christine speak with Tara Harvey, founder of True North Intercultural, about why intercultural learning matters more than ever today.

Key Topics Covered:
- What intercultural learning really means
- Intercultural competence as a life and leadership skill
- Why schools should...

What happens when a small everyday moment suddenly feels uncomfortable, confusing, or just slightly “off”?
Maybe it’s being asked to take off your shoes before entering someone’s home.
Maybe it’s silence in a meeting that feels longer than it should.
Maybe it’s navigating a train system that seems perfectly logical to everyone - except you.
These moments are easy to dismiss. Easy to judge. Easy to label as “strange.”
But what if these so-called culture bumps are not obstacles to overcome, rather, invitations to pause, reflect, and uncover the deeper patterns shaping how we see the world?

*Culture Chat*
In...

What is unconscious bias? And why does it matter so much in our personal and professional lives? Research from Harvard’s Project Implicit shows that millions of people worldwide demonstrate unconscious biases around race, gender, age, and more, even when they consciously reject stereotypes. In the workplace, these hidden assumptions still influence who gets hired, promoted, and heard in meetings - shaping careers, cultures, and everyday interactions in ways we often don’t realize.

*Culture Chat*
In this episode, Frauke and Marie-Christine dive deep into the hidden assumptions that shape how we perceive others, make decisions, and interact across cultures. Joined by...