The real problem isn't English
When Brazilians and Americans work together, communication problems are rarely just about language. They're often about what people mean, what they expect, and what they consider "normal" at work.
A Brazilian can speak fluent English and still struggle with an American manager. An American manager can be excellent at managing people and still misunderstand a Brazilian employee. The problem is often somewhere in between.
I've spent the last few years working across Brazilian and international teams, and I've noticed the same situations come up again and again. This guide is about those situations.
"What do you think?"
"I genuinely want your opinion. Tell me if you think this is a bad idea."
"My manager has already made a decision and wants me to validate it."
This was one of the things I had to learn. In many international teams, especially US teams, disagreement can be interpreted as engagement. Your manager may actually want you to challenge the idea.
Try this — when someone asks "What do you think?", assume they actually want to know.
Feedback is not personal
One of the biggest adjustments when working with international managers is understanding how directly feedback can be delivered.
"This wasn't strong enough. Let's redo it."
"They didn't like my work."
…and potentially: "They don't like me."
But direct feedback doesn't necessarily carry the same personal meaning. In many US workplaces, separating the person from the work is important.
Don't spend too much time decoding the emotional meaning behind feedback. Instead, ask:
You turn feedback from a personal experience into a practical conversation.
Being direct doesn't mean being cold. You can be clear about the work while still making the relationship feel safe.
Silence doesn't always mean agreement
The manager explains an idea. "Any concerns?" Nobody says anything. The meeting ends.
The manager thinks: "Great. Everyone's aligned." But someone on the Brazilian side might be thinking: "I'm not sure this will work, but I don't want to challenge it in front of everyone."
This is where communication can break.
Agreement · alignment · no concerns
I'm thinking · I'm unsure · I disagree · I need more context
There isn't one universal interpretation.
Instead of asking only "Any questions?", try a prompt that makes it easier to challenge the idea:
"Let me know if you need anything"
This sounds straightforward. But it can create very different expectations.
"If you need help, ask me. I'm available."
"I should probably try to figure this out myself first."
3 days later → still no question.
The manager wonders why they didn't say they were blocked. The employee didn't want to bother their manager.
In international teams, asking for help early is often a strength, not a weakness. A useful message is:
"I've tried X and Y. I'm still blocked because of Z. Could you help me decide between these two approaches?"
That's much easier for a manager to act on.
"Can you do this?"
There is a subtle difference between two questions that sound almost the same:
"Can you do this?"
Sounds like a task waiting for instructions.
"This is yours. Figure out how to make it happen."
Often what the manager actually means.
Brazilian professionals working with international companies can sometimes wait for more explicit instructions than their manager expects. Meanwhile, the manager thinks: "I gave them the problem. I expected them to own the solution."
Your manager may not care exactly how you get there. They care that you:
- Understand the goal.
- Identify what needs to happen.
- Communicate progress.
- Raise problems early.
- Deliver.
"What should I do?"
"Here's how I think we should approach it. Unless you see a problem, I'll move forward with this."
That small change communicates ownership.
Slack is not an email
A surprisingly large amount of cross-cultural communication happens in tiny messages — and the meaning can feel completely different depending on who's reading it.
Neither is necessarily warmer or colder. They're just different communication habits.
Don't over-interpret short messages. Especially in distributed teams, brevity is often efficiency, not hostility. And if something genuinely feels unclear, ask.
A five-second clarification is better than a two-day misunderstanding.
English fluency ≠ communication
Someone can have excellent English and still struggle in an international team. And someone can have imperfect English and be an excellent communicator.
"Is their English good?"
"Can we understand each other well enough to work together?"
That includes so much more than vocabulary:
Sometimes the best communicators aren't the people with the biggest vocabulary. They're the people who know how to say:
Those sentences can be more valuable than perfect grammar.
Building trust remotely
There's another layer underneath all of this: trust. When you're working remotely across countries, people don't have the same number of informal interactions.
You don't bump into your manager in the kitchen. You don't have a five-minute conversation before a meeting. You don't automatically see what everyone else is working on. That means trust has to become more intentional.
Don't assume your manager knows you're doing a good job. Communicate progress. Share context. Close loops.
Don't only talk to your Brazilian employees when something goes wrong. Ask questions. Give context. Create space for informal interaction.
Trust isn't built through one big conversation. It's built through small interactions repeated over time.
The rule I wish I'd learned earlier
After working across different cultures and teams, I've come to believe the biggest communication mistake is this:
A short message might feel efficient to you and cold to someone else.
A question might feel obvious to you and intimidating to someone else.
Silence might feel like agreement to you and uncertainty to someone else.
Direct feedback might feel honest to you and personal to someone else.
None of these interpretations are necessarily wrong. They're just different.
And most importantly: don't make people guess what you mean.
That's probably the single most useful lesson I've taken from working between Brazil and the US.
