All Episodes
Episodes
202. What to Say When Someone Makes a Hurtful Comment
In this episode, Alejandra Siroka explores one of the most courageous communication skills in the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series: how to hold someone accountable for hurtful words without shaming...
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201. From Fitting In to Belonging
In this episode, Alejandra Siroka draws a sharp distinction between two experiences that often get confused: fitting in and belonging. Fitting in, she explains, is effortful and performative: it means monitoring what...
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200. How to Understand Any Accent, with Speech-language Pathologist and Accent Modification Coach, Natalie Cohen
In this episode, Alejandra invites Natalie Cohen, a licensed speech-language pathologist and accent modification coach to discuss how we perceive various accents, and how this perception can create disconnection and...
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199. Questions That Sting. Multicultural Communication and Belonging Series. Part 5
The questions that feel like small talk perhaps unbeknown to you tell someone they don't belong.
In this fifth episode of the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series, Alejandra Siroka examines something most...
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198. Words That Push People Out
Some of the most xenophobic phrases in everyday English arrived quietly, stripped of their origins and normalized long before anyone thought to question them.
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In this fourth episode of the Multicultural...
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197. How Your Culture Shapes Your Relationships. Multicultural Communication & Belonging Series. Part 3
In Part 3 of the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series, Alejandra Siroka opens with a definition that shaped her entire career: language is not just a tool for communication, it is a way of looking at...
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196. Immigrant Language Barriers. Multicultural Communication & Belonging Series, Part 2
Alejandra Siroka continues the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series by inviting you to anchor in compassionate understanding and notice the daily invisible effort immigrants make to communicate...
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195. Diversity is Richness. Multicultural Communication & Belonging Series. Part 1
What does it take to feel like you belong in a place that does not yet feel like home? Alejandra Siroka opens the new Multicultural Communication and Belonging series with a story from her life as a 15-year-old...
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194. The Language of Ethical Marketing with Justine Chang
This is an episode based on a question from listener Giovanna, who wanted to know how to use values-aligned language in marketing. Alejandra Siroka talks to Justine Chang, a brand story and messaging strategist, about...
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193. Stop Waiting for Others to Change How They Communicate
Hard conversations often reveal an uncomfortable truth: we are still asking other people to do the emotional work, which deters our own growth and capacity to tap into our confidence. This episode centers on a...
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192. Blame Doesn't Resolve Conflict (This Is What Does)
Blame can feel like a good way to navigate a difficult movement in a relationship, but it blocks the honesty, repair, and self-awareness that meaningful relationships require. This episode centers on understanding...
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191. How to Talk to Kids About Phones & Screens
What happens to family connection when the most powerful force competing for your child’s attention fits in their pocket. Digital devices now shape daily family life in ways many parents never anticipated. Phones...
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