Some "cultural givens" are so deeply imbedded as to be invisible to those who hold them. These assumptions lead to communication breakdowns that cause embarrassment, frustration, or even discrimination.

Communicating Between Cultures shows how to improve communication in a series of eye-opening cross-cultural situations.

• Ms. Yee and Mrs. Franklin discover that "getting right to the point" is as much a cultural value as "saving face."
• Ed and Tabore discover that even the simple act of saying "yes" or "no" has cultural implications.
• Brianna is shocked that Illya would graduate from college and even consider living in the same house as his parents.
• Alex can't understand why Frishta won't even give him a high five. Is she afraid of him? Is it something he said?