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Helping professionals achieve effective intercultural communication that aids societal restoration.

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I help you robustly thrive in your intercultural relationships

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I help you robustly thrive in your intercultural relationships

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I help you thrive!

observing the International Coaching Federation’s Code of Ethics

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Basics of Directing People Across Cultures
It is very easy for companies to make horrendous blunders when managing across cultures.
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The Priority of First Hand, Current Knowledge
. . . choosing high quality people . . . . trusting their first-hand knowledge of a . . . situation
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Coaching or Mentoring: Which Do I Need?
. . . a CQ assessment . . . it is nearly always a great choice to start there.
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Hi, I’m Dave

I have over 30 years of experience as an American living and working in Southeast Asia—specifically in the Indo-Malay region.
Out of background of language and literature education, public speaking, training, community development, team and network oversight, conflict resolution, life-career coaching and conducting cultural assessments—all of this done interculturally and across four languages—I bring help to your table.
I’ve taught in Bahasa at the master’s level, translated for high ranking officials, worked as a consultant-trainer to university presidents and the mayor of a large city, and assisted a high-profile religious cleric (from a different persuasion than my own) in mass disaster aid and community development.
I help you grow in awareness of common “cultural landmines” that outsiders often inadvertently set off while striving to relate well interculturally. It starts with attitudes and assumptions, but it gets down to practical specifics as well.
One of the most enjoyable challenges to take on is creating positive engagement across huge cultural gaps to spawn effective mutual understanding and trust.

I would love to help you grow in relating better across differing cultural styles—differences between direct and indirect communication styles, low and high-power distance styles, individualistic and communal preferences, guilt-shame-fear orientations, high and low risk tolerance and many other preferences.

I’m certain that once you get into this—with a guide to get you started, navigating these differences will become one of your favorite passions as well!
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Communication depends on lasting involvement with people from different cultures.

In our instant messaging hi-tech world it’s easy to overlook that.


When approaching cultures or subcultures (anyone here come from a family?) that are even a little bit traditional–communication is about lasting involvement.


Rudyard Kipling was definitely onto something when he observed in verse how some Westerners–in particular–come with their grandiose plans to get quick results in the East.

Now it is not good for the Christian’s health to hustle the Aryan brown,

For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles and he weareth the Christian down;

And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name of the late deceased,

And the epitaph drear: “A Fool lies here who tried to hustle the East.”

“The Naulahka”

In anything but a very modernized culture (whether it be American, Chinese, Saudi, whatever), it takes time to develop trust. Lots of time. Words are seen as cheap. Actions matter. Lots of actions over lots of time. Character distills trust.

That’s why some of the most effective expats in Asia are “Old Asia hands.” Not all are. Some have 40 years in Asia with one year of Asia experience. Without cultural awareness and intelligence, some manage to relive the same cultural assumptions and blunders over and over like repeatedly watching old shows on Hits TV.
But with a sustained learner’s posture that gets you out of your cultural bubble and involved with diverse people, plus curiosity leading toward awareness, occasional coaching and a lot of persistence, you have a fair shot at surprising your peers and becoming one of those most effective intercultural people.
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