The Language Alchemy Podcast

By Alejandra SirokaEducation

The Language Alchemy Podcast episodes

November 04208. Same Words, Different Worlds: Why We Misunderstand Each Other
Have you ever walked away from a conversation wondering why someone reacted the way they did? Maybe you thought you were being considerate, while the other person felt ignored or disrespected. Or perhaps you found yourself judging someone's behavior without realizing that they were seeing the situation completely differently.
But what if neither of you was wrong?
In this episode, Alejandra explores how culture shapes the way we communicate, interpret situations, and understand one another. Culture isn't just about the country we come from. It's also shaped by our families, neighborhoods, religion, education, and the experiences that have taught us what is normal, respectful, and appropriate.
Through the story of Riley and Kai, Alejandra illustrates how two people can experience the same situation and walk away with completely different interpretations. One person may believe that quietly leaving a gathering is a considerate way to avoid inconveniencing the hosts, while another may see saying goodbye to each person as an important way to acknowledge relationships. Both partners were acting out of care, yet their different expectations led to misunderstanding and conflict.
Instead of assuming that someone is rude, inconsiderate, or disrespectful, Alejandra invites us to become curious about the experiences and cultural expectations behind their behavior.
The episode also introduces a practical four-step Culture Conversation to help you explore your differences, understand recurring misunderstandings, and decide together how you want to communicate based on your shared values.
Quotes from the Episode
“Both partners were acting out of care.”
“We rarely consider how culture has shaped our communication.”
In This Episode
Why speaking the same language doesn't always mean understanding one another
How our cultural experiences shape the way we interpret words, actions, and social situations
How a simple misunderstanding can turn into conflict when we judge another person's character
Why two people can experience the same situation but have completely different interpretations of what happened
How family, community, education, religion, and life experiences influence our communication expectations
The difference between leaving a gathering quietly and saying goodbye to each person, and what these actions can mean to different people
Alejandra's four-step Culture Conversation for exploring differences and understanding recurring misunderstandings
Why no culture is better than another, and how to make communication decisions together based on shared values
How to move from blame and judgment toward curiosity, connection, and collaboration
The transformative question to ask when someone else's behavior doesn't make sense to you: “What was this person taught?”
Pre-Order Language Alchemy
Alejandra's book, Language Alchemy: The Essential Communication Tool Kit for a Life of Peace, Authenticity and Meaning, offers practical tools to help you transform how you communicate and relate to others.
Explore the book and find out how to join an upcoming in-person or online book launch event.
Pre-order the Book:
https://www.languagealchemybook.com/
Connect with Alejandra
Website:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/
Substack:
https://languagealchemy.substack.com/
Instagram:
@languagealchemy
Work with Alejandra:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
Join the Mailing List:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
Submit a Podcast Question:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
1:1 Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
Couples Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
Schedule a Consultation:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
Original Music
Original music by Gary Lapow.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
21 min
October 21207. Difficult Conversations? It's Not About Having the "Right Words"
Have you ever replayed a difficult conversation in your head, wishing you had found the perfect words to have things go differently? Maybe you want your partner to understand you without becoming defensive, your teenager to cooperate without complaining, or your manager to recognize your contributions without turning the conversation into a lecture.
But what if finding the "right words" isn't what you need?
In this episode, Alejandra explores why searching for the perfect words can leave us feeling frustrated, misunderstood, and defeated. Often, beneath our search for the right words is a hidden agenda. We want a particular outcome, a specific response, or a certain reward from the person we're speaking with.
Through relatable examples from romantic relationships, parenting, and the workplace, Alejandra explains why even the most thoughtful, clear, and compassionate words cannot guarantee a particular response.
Instead of trying to control the outcome, Alejandra invites you to shift your attention to a more meaningful question that helps.
You create more possibilities for communicating your truth.
The episode also offers practical examples of how this shift can transform the way you express yourself with your partner, collaborate with your teenager, or advocate for yourself at work.

Quotes from the Episode
“The truth is there are no right words that will perfectly and consistently take an interaction in the direction you would like it to go.”
“Your words are like the sails, and the other person's mood, history, circumstances, and temporary states are the weather.”

In This Episode
Why searching for the "right words" can leave you frustrated in difficult conversations
How hidden agendas influence the way we communicate with our partners, children, and colleagues
Why even clear, confident, and compassionate communication cannot guarantee the response you want
How other people's emotional states, experiences, and circumstances shape their responses
The difference between focusing on an outcome and communicating with intention
How to align your words with your values, including honesty, transparency, confidence, connection, and self-respect
Practical examples of expressing your truth in romantic relationships, parenting, and the workplace
The question you need to ask yourself before your next important conversation:

Pre-Order Language Alchemy
Alejandra's book, Language Alchemy: The Essential Communication Toolkit for a Life of Peace, Authenticity, and Meaning, offers practical tools to help you transform how you communicate and relate to others.
Explore the book and find out how to join an upcoming in-person or online book launch event.

Pre-order the Book:
https://www.languagealchemybook.com/

Connect with Alejandra
Website:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/
Substack:
https://languagealchemy.substack.com/
Instagram:
@languagealchemy
Work with Alejandra:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
Join the Mailing List:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
Submit a Podcast Question:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
1:1 Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
Couples Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
Schedule a Consultation:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient

Original Music
Original music by Gary Lapow.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
18 min
October 07206. What Do Your Conversations Say About Your Values?
We all have values we say are important to us, love, connection, respect, kindness, equality, honesty, presence, and more. But do our everyday conversations actually reflect those values?
In this episode, Alejandra explores how your relational values show up in the small communication choices you make every day: what you let slide, what you interrupt, what you avoid, what you ask, and what you make space for.
Through examples from work, friendships, and romantic relationships, Alejandra invites you to notice the gap between the values you say you hold dear and the values your communication may actually reveal.
You'll explore what happens when we stay silent instead of speaking up, interrupt to correct someone, avoid an important conversation, or ask questions without making space for another person's experience. You'll also discover how these same communication choices can become opportunities to express values like courage, care, presence, connection, and respect.
The episode also introduces a five-step transformative communication process to help you examine a recent conversation, identify what you were valuing in the moment, notice any gaps between your values and your communication, and choose one small action to bring your relational values more fully into your everyday interactions.
At the heart of this episode is a simple question:
If someone listened to your conversations this week, what would they say you value, and what would you love for them to say?

Quotes from the Episode
“Values are our North Star. They are our compass.”
“The question isn't whether we interrupt. The question is: what are our interruptions in service of? What values are they revealing?”
“It's so good to notice without guilt, without shame, but just with awareness.”
“Is this the most important value I want in this conversation, in this moment, with this person?”
“When we close the gap, even a little, something shifts. Our words begin to match who we are.”

In This Episode
How your conversations reveal your relational values
The gap between the values you say you hold and the values your communication actually reveals
What silence, interruptions, and avoidance communicate
How the questions you ask can reflect presence, intimacy, and care
How unconscious habits and inherited communication patterns influence your conversations
A five-step transformative communication tool for aligning your communication with your values

Pre-Order Language Alchemy
Alejandra's book, Language Alchemy: The Essential Communication Tool Kit for a Life of Peace, Authenticity, and Meaning, explores these ideas further with practical tools for transforming how you communicate and relate to others.
Pre-order the Book:
https://www.languagealchemybook.com/

Connect with Alejandra
Website:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/
Substack:
https://languagealchemy.substack.com/
Instagram:
@languagealchemy
Work with Alejandra:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
Join the Mailing List:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
Submit a Podcast Question:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
1:1 Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
Couples Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
Schedule a Consultation:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient

Original Music
http://open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
24 min
September 23205. What Does it Really Mean to Be Authentic? Authenticity Vs. Brutal Honesty
Is saying exactly what you think really the same as being authentic?
We often hear phrases like "I'm just telling it like it is," "I'm just being honest," or "I'm speaking my truth." They can reflect a genuine desire to be real. But in this episode, Alejandra explores what happens when authenticity is actually a form of impulsivity, emotional discharge, or expressing hurtful judgments without considering their impact.
Through stories from her own experiences and workshops, Alejandra shows why authentic expression doesn't require sharing every detail of our inner experience or saying the first thing that comes to mind. She explores how context, intention, responsibility, and mindfulness can help us move beneath judgments and accusations to communicate the deeper truth of our feelings, values, desires, expectations, and requests.
At the heart of the episode is a different understanding of authenticity: to be authentic is to become the author of your own expression. Rather than automatically repeating inherited patterns of accusation, blame, or reactivity, Alejandra invites listeners to consciously create language that reflects what's truly happening within them while remaining mindful of the impact their words can have. It's an invitation to speak honestly without causing unnecessary pain.
Quotes:
"Telling someone verbatim what you think of them or how you feel without any regard for impact or consequence is not true honesty or true authenticity." (Alejandra Siroka)
"Now, to be authentic, you don't have to share every single detail about your inner experience. Depending on the context and our intention, our authentic expression requires mindfulness."
"To be authentic is to be the author of your own expression, to create it originally from within."
"Real authenticity asks us to become the authors of a new language, a language that starts with awareness of what's happening inside of us."

Pre-Order Language Alchemy
Alejandra's upcoming book, Language Alchemy: The Essential Communication Toolkit for a Life of Peace, Authenticity, and Meaning, is now available for pre-order.
The book goes deeper into these ideas with practical tools, real examples, and reflections designed to help readers become more aware of what's happening within themselves and communicate with greater honesty, authenticity, and care.
Pre-order the Book:
https://www.languagealchemybook.com/
Connect with Alejandra
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706
Work with Alejandra:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
Join the mailing list:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
Submit a podcast question:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
1:1 Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
Couples Communication Coaching:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
Schedule a consultation:
https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
Instagram:
@languagealchemy
Original music by Gary Lapow:
http://open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
20 min
September 09204. Doctors' Words & Healing with Dr. Chrissie Ott
In this episode, Alejandra Siroka speaks with Dr. Chrissie Ott, a physician leader, board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, integrative medicine, and obesity medicine, and an ICF-certified coach. Together, they explore the role that language, presence, and relationship play in healthcare, and how the words used between physicians and patients can either create connection or contribute to disconnection.

Chrissie reflects on her experiences as both a physician and a patient, including how language such as “non-compliant” or “failed treatment” can reveal assumptions about the physician-patient relationship. Alejandra and Chrissie discuss moving beyond a top-down model of care toward communication grounded in curiosity, informed choice, dignity, empathy, and respect. They also explore how cultural assumptions and biases can influence the way healthcare providers communicate with patients, particularly multicultural patients and those who speak languages other than English.

Throughout their conversation, Alejandra and Chrissie explore what becomes possible when healthcare providers bring their full presence and humanity into the room, even when they have only a few minutes with a patient. Chrissie shares how mindfulness, empathic listening, positive regard, curiosity, and relational care can support more meaningful interactions, while Alejandra reflects on the communication skills that can help healthcare professionals navigate conflict, recognize bias, and relate to each patient as a whole human being.

Quotes
“Nobody's a villain in this situation. But the behaviors, they deserve to be thought about. The communication approaches, they deserve to slow down and be r- Like, what is it you are hoping to get out of this visit today?” (Chrissie Ott)
“Conflicts don't have to be a battle. They can be an opportunity for connection. They can be an opportunity for curiosity and finding out what could work, what we could do differently, how we could collaborate in a deeper way.” (Alejandra Siroka)
“Being in connection with another human and noticing how they are a delight makes medicine so much more fun than the drudgery of, ‘I have to go do this admission and this task again.’ Instead, it's like, ‘No, let's go talk to this human being and learn their story.’” (Chrissie Ott)
“If all you have is seven minutes, in seven minutes, I think, as you're saying, if you are embodied, if you are present, you can have empathy, you can have curiosity, you can move away from judgment and more into observations.” (Alejandra Siroka)
To leave a review on Apple Podcasts, click: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366

To leave a review on Spotify, click: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706

To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme

To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist

To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion

To pre-order Language Alchemy: The Essential Communication Tool Kit for a Life of Peace, Authenticity and Meaning, visit:https://www.languagealchemybook.com/

Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
42 min
August 26203. AIR: A Communication Tool for Life
What if the way we respond in difficult moments could help create more connection and belonging?
In this final episode of the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series, Alejandra Siroka reflects on the eight-episode journey exploring culture, belonging, language, accents, microaggressions, and the ways our communication can either open or close the door to connection.
Alejandra introduces AIR, a Language Alchemy® communication practice you can benefit from for life. This practice can help us recognize our inherited patterns and reactive habits, create a bridge between our values and the words we choose and respond skillfully when it’s time to take responsibility when our communication has an unintended negative impact.
As she closes the series, Alejandra reminds listeners that transformative communication is not simply a skill, but an ongoing practice and a form of evolutionary activism through which we can choose, conversation by conversation, what kind of world we want to contribute to.
Quotes
“ There are so many ways of saying the same message. And so, we can choose different words that do not perpetuate further pain, misinformation, or divisiveness. And instead, we can express ourselves in a way that communicates our interconnectedness, that values all human beings, and that brings forth dignity for all .” (5:42 | Alejandra Siroka)
“ Belonging is what it feels like to be accepted as you are, not in spite of your differences, but including them. Because you, like everyone else, is both a unique being and also a valuable and a valuable member of our precious and diverse human family.” (7:31 | Alejandra Siroka)
”Awareness in communication means noticing before, during, and after a conversation who you are communicating with, what you are communicating about, and how you are communicating it. When you bring awareness to your communication, you ask yourself, "Am I communicating in alignment with my values, or am I communicating in alignment with my inherited patterns and reactive habits?" (9:10 | Alejandra Siroka)
“ Good intentions do not erase impact, and when we cause harm, even unintentionally, we need to acknowledge it and own it honestly without collapsing into shame. This is what mature, conscious adults do.” (12:19 | Alejandra Siroka)
To leave a review on Apple Podcasts, click: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366
To leave a review on Spotify, click: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706
To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
To find out about 1:1 transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
To find out about couple transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
To schedule a reduced-rate coaching consultation with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
To follow Alejandra on instagram follow @languagealchemy
Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
16 min
August 12202. 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 them.
Drawing on the work of Loretta Ross, professor, human rights activist, and founding architect of the reproductive justice movement, Alejandra introduces the practice of Calling In, a way of responding to harmful comments that holds both love and human dignity as equal partners in the conversation.
Alejandra opens with a vivid scenario many listeners will recognize: a Sunday family lunch interrupted by a derogatory comment about immigrants, and the intense ten seconds that follow for everyone at the table. Through this story, she explains how most of us learned to respond, if we do say anything at all.
The episode then moves into the heart of the practice itself, walking through the difference between calling out, which shames and invites defensiveness, and calling in, which leads with curiosity and keeps the door to real dialogue open.
Alejandra offers concrete examples to show what Calling In sounds like.
Whether you have gone quiet in the face of a hurtful comment and carried that silence with you, or you are ready to find language that holds accountability and love side by side, this episode gives you a grounded and practical path forward.
Quotes
"Staying silent is not a matter of protecting our sense of safety. No, it's a matter of protecting our sense of comfort." (06:33 | Alejandra Siroka)
" Calling out doesn't teach anything. It shuts the conversation down, and it initiates fights. When we call someone out, it's a perfect invitation to defend themselves instead of inviting them to reflect on what they've just said." (08:09 | Alejandra Siroka)
" Calling in is rooted in curiosity instead of certainty about someone's intentions. It's also anchored in vulnerability, letting the other person see that what they just said or what they did, actually affected you because it also impacts others. It also uses compassionate communication for them and for yourself.” (15:17 | Alejandra Siroka)
" Calling in is not about tolerating harm. It means choosing to communicate deliberately to hold both accountability and love side by side in your heart." (16:42 | Alejandra Siroka)
" Keeping ourselves quiet in the face of harmful language is not neutral. It's a choice that keeps us comfortable and perpetuates harm." (17:45 | Alejandra Siroka)
To leave a review on Apple Podcasts, click: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366
To leave a review on Spotify, click: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706
To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
To find out about 1:1 transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
To find out about couple transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
To schedule a reduced-rate coaching consultation with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
To follow Alejandra on instagram follow @languagealchemy
Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
20 min
July 29201. 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 you say, hiding your accent, your opinions, your past, and constantly scanning the room to imitate what's "acceptable." Belonging feels entirely different: relaxed, expansive, and grounded, creating the sense of being accepted not despite your differences but because of them.
Alejandra shares a deeply personal throughline from her own life as an Argentine immigrant living between two countries.
The episode moves from that personal reckoning into practical territory, walking through specific communication tools for cultivating belonging in both directions: for yourself and for others.
Whether you've spent years performing to belong somewhere, or you're learning how to make space for someone else to belong, this episode offers a grounded, practical path from fitting in to true belonging.
Quotes
"Fitting in is when you change yourself, your communication, your behaviors, in order to be accepted." (03:16 | Alejandra Siroka)
"Belonging is about learning how to show up exactly as you are, with all your brilliance, all your complexity, all your limitations, all your humanity." (04:26 | Alejandra Siroka)
"A name is an identity, a lineage, a story. Making the effort to say it as close to the actual pronunciation as possible is one of the clearest signals that you see the person in front of you as worth that effort." (13:40 | Alejandra Siroka)
"Before you ask someone where they're from, ask them what they love. Ask them what brought them to this room, to this conversation, to this event." (14:18 | Alejandra Siroka)

To leave a review on Apple Podcasts, click: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366
To leave a review on Spotify, click: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706
To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
To find out about 1:1 transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
To find out about couple transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
To schedule a reduced-rate coaching consultation with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
To follow Alejandra on instagram follow @languagealchemy
Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD
17 min
July 15200. How to Understand Any Accent
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 inaccurate ideas about each other.

Together they challenge the harmful myth that “thick” accents signal lower intelligence, emphasizing mutual understanding and mutual adaptation. Natalie explains that accent work focuses on intelligibility, confidence, and features like pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation while preserving identity rather than “eliminating” an accent.

Natalie also unpack the bias hiding inside that instinct. Why does an unfamiliar accent make a listener's brain work harder, and why does that extra effort end up impacting the speaker so negatively. Natalie shares stories from her practice, including a physician who stopped speaking English outside of work after a comment from her supervisor about her accent, and explains how that kind of self-consciousness takes root.

Both Alejandra and Natalie offer real strategies for both sides of the exchange, from how native speakers can train their ears to how non-native speakers can hold onto their voice while still being understood.

Quotes
"There's nothing wrong with having an accent, being able to accept themselves as having an accent and how beautiful it is and how it's part of a person's identity, is to have an accent. You know, if we take away everyone's accent, we're all gonna sound the same." (11:51 | Natalie Cohen)
"When we communicate with each other, only seven percent of what we say is based on our words. Thirty-eight percent is based on our pronunciation, our intonation, our rhythm, our pacing, etc." (14:26 | Natalie Cohen)
"They have found that people who have born accents are less likely to get jobs, get promotions, get leadership roles, are less likely to get housing. It all comes down to the fact that subconsciously, the way our brain processes language." (20:06 | Natalie Cohen)
"Because the people speak differently than ourselves, we subconsciously think of the person as not in our group. They're in the out group, because they're different than ourselves." (21:49 | Natalie Cohen)
"It is from a desire to try to place you, and see how to connect with you, and can we be friends and all that. But sometimes it's so painful to receive it five times a day because we're so much more than where we grew up, or were raised or, the particular accent that we have." (41:50 | Alejandra Siroka)

Connect with Natalie Cohen:
Website: nataliecohenslp.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-cohen-american-accent-pronunciation-coach-819795b/

Links
Udemy class: Master the Most Confusing American Vowels https://www.udemy.com/course/master-the-most-confusing-american-vowels/?referralCode=977C2EB3E309EAEF0711

To leave a review on Apple Podcasts, click: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366
To leave a review on Spotify, click: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706
To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
To find out about 1:1 transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
To find out about couple transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
To schedule a reduced-rate coaching consultation with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
To follow Alejandra on instagram follow @languagealchemy
Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
50 min
July 01199. 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 people never intend to do: make someone feel like an outsider with a single question.

She opens with a story from her years in Boston, where a student assumed she was a Mexican maid based on nothing more than the sound of her voice over the phone. What came after was more revealing than the incident itself: for a period of time, she began leading every introduction with her credentials, preemptively defending herself against assumptions she hadn't even heard yet. One interaction quietly rewired how she showed up with strangers.

Alejandra traces the term "microaggression" back to Dr. Chester Pierce, who coined it in the early 1970s to describe subtle, cumulative daily interactions that function as a mix of insults and dismissals. Most people asking these questions mean no harm.

In this episode Alejandra unpacks the gap between intention and impact. She walks through the most common questions directed at immigrants and people of color and the assumption living underneath each one.

What makes them a microaggression isn't the surface wording. It's the selectivity: these questions aren't asked of everyone, only of people perceived as being from somewhere else.

Whether you've asked these questions without realizing the weight they carry, or you've spent years on the receiving end, this episode offers tools for understanding what's really happening in these moments and ways to respond that don't create more harm.

Quotes
"Microaggressions are sometimes called death by a thousand paper cuts. Each one in isolation might seem small, but for the person who receives them on a daily basis from strangers, from colleagues, from people they consider friends, they accumulate and they take a toll." (05:27 | Alejandra Siroka)
"I was preemptively defending myself against assumptions I hadn't even heard from the new person I was just meeting. That is what microaggressions do. They don't just hurt in the moment. They change how you show up." (09:06 | Alejandra Siroka)
"These questions reduce a person to a cultural stereotype before maybe a real conversation has taken place. Because they say, I already have a story about who you are based on where you come from." (12:55 | Alejandra Siroka)
"These questions aren't asked of everyone. They are asked of specific people based on how they look or sound. And it's that selectivity what makes them a microaggression." (16:10 | Alejandra Siroka)
"You are not obligated to answer a question that assumes something harmful about you. You are the one who gets to decide how much of your story to share with whom and when." (20:06 | Alejandra Siroka)

Links
To leave a review on Apple Podcasts, click: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-language-alchemy-podcast/id1576461366
To leave a review on Spotify, click: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yTj9hSotq8EAjPCYg2jYw?si=aQNuoStRQomTNUKHGSD56A&nd=1&dlsi=064dcb42ba8d4706
To work with Alejandra, visit: www.languagealchemy.com/workwithme
To join the Language Alchemy mailing list, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/mailinglist
To ask questions you'd like Alejandra to answer in the podcast, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion
To find out about 1:1 transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/oneonone
To find out about couple transformative communication coaching with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/couples
To schedule a reduced-rate coaching consultation with Alejandra, visit: https://www.languagealchemy.com/newclient
To follow Alejandra on instagram follow @languagealchemy
Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqD

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
23 min

About The Language Alchemy Podcast

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I'm Alejandra Siroka, a transformative communication teacher and coach, and this is the Language Alchemy Podcast. The words you use every day shape your life and your relationships. So what happens…

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