Figure 1-11.—Stereotyping individuals is not consistent with the Navy’s expectations

l l l l l Figure 1-11.—Stereotyping individuals is not consistent with the Navy’s expectations. Because you understood the subject so well yourself, you did not make your explanation as thorough as you should have. Your attitude implied that the customer or his or her problem was not important. Other problems were bothering the customer. The customer felt rushed. You failed to make sure the customer had un- derstood. Keep in mind that if the customer has a question and only you, a PN, can provide the answer because the customer’s record is maintained by your office, that customer can only obtain the information from you. There are several types of language barriers that interfere with effective communications. Some are cultural, some are physical, some are habit, and some are just intended to confuse you. The barrier may exist because of the customer, you, or both. The first two barriers —cultural and physical—are the most difficult for the speaker to overcome. Persons, for whom English is a second language, often have difficulty with pronunciation, meaning, and sentence structure. English is considered to be one of the most difficult languages to learn (words that sound alike have completely different spellings and meanings and words with similar spelling are pronounced differently). You cannot change the English language, but there are ways you can help your customer to overcome this barrier. First, you must listen very carefully to what the customer is saying. The best way to do this is by being honestly concerned. Next, be absolutely sure you know the nature of the need or problem. ^-Then, carefully phrase your questions so that you use relatively simple words and ask only one thing at a time. By first determining the nature of the 1-17