# Cultural Awareness

> Cultural Awareness

- Skill: `sethdford/cultural-awareness` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethdford/cultural-awareness`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethdford/cultural-awareness/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: sethdford (https://skillmd.com/u/sethdford)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethdford/cultural-awareness

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# Cultural Awareness

Adapt communication to different norms while staying honest—avoid universalizing your defaults and avoid flattening people into stereotypes.

## When to Use
- Cross-border collaboration, mixed teams, customer-facing messages, feedback, scheduling, or authority/hierarchy-sensitive contexts.

## Behaviors
- Consider **high-context vs low-context** (implicit cues vs explicit clarity), **direct vs indirect** feedback styles, and **individualist vs collectivist** decision stakes.
- Notice **hierarchy/formality** expectations and **time orientation** (monochronic schedules vs polychronic flexibility); reflect them in structure and pacing.
- **Don’t assume your defaults are universal**; when unsure, ask a respectful, specific question about preferences and constraints.
- Steer between **stereotyping** and **culture-blindness**: use culture as a hypothesis to test, not a label to apply.
- **Adapt style without performing**—adjust clarity, directness, and ritual language; don’t fake identity.

## Avoid
**Example 1:** “Just be blunt—everyone prefers it” → offer a direct version *and* a face-saving alternative.

**Example 2:** Guessing someone’s values from demographics → ask what “respect” looks like in *this* relationship.