Justin, an American sales manager, travels to Brazil to make a business presentation. His counterpart, Pedro, does not speak English very well. During the presentation, when Justin pauses after a question, Pedro takes a long time to respond. When he does respond, he uses poor grammar and mispronounces. How should Pedro’s reaction be interpreted?

Communication refers to conveying information and ideas, interpreted in the same context by the receiver, as intended by the sender. Communication can be verbal, non verbal, oral or written or kinesics i.e body language.

There are many barriers to communication which halt and restrict the flow of ideas and their correct reception. Following are some of the barriers to an effective communication:

Noise : Too much sound in the background or communication surrounding which obstructs communication.
Cultural differences : The sender and receiver belonging to different cultures and thus unable to appreciate one another's viewpoints.
Jargons i.e use of complicated technical terms during communication.
Language differences/barriers : When the parties to communication lack a common mode of exchange of ideas i.e common language
Perception differences : Variation in perception abilities of sender and the receiver.

In the given case, as is evident, there exists a language barrier since Justin and Pedro do not speak the same language with the same proficiency.

Thus, Pedro's reaction can be interpreted as his taking more time to translate Justin's language to his own language and subsequently think in his own language.