Keywords: Latino, ethnicity, African American, Hispanic, things to say, things never to say, diversity, workplace, etiquette

If you've read 10 Things NEVER to Say to Latino Executives, you have a good idea of what to avoid saying in order not to offend your colleague or embarrass yourself. But understanding better ways of communicating with your Latino coworkers can be trickier.

"It's really easy to point out the things not to say," says Rene Rodriguez, president and founder of the Latino social-networking web site Babbalu.com, part of the DiversityInc Recruitment Network. He says when it comes to things to say, it's more about your approach than your words. "Whether you're African American or Asian or Latino, you get to know the person …you get to know their culture."

Knowing about your coworker's culture can make it easier to address things specific to a person's job that crosses cultural lines.

"Performance is performance whether you're Latino or African American or white," says Ana Mollinedo Mims, managing director of The Hunting Ridge Group and former vice president of global communications, community affairs and diversity for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (no. 19 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® list.) "How you carry yourself, how you present yourself and how you communicate are things that are difficult for employers to talk about with their Latino employees because they're not the things that you can measure like your performances."

Knowing how to address a specific situation that may involve cultural aspects is key to open communication among coworkers.

So before you speak to a Latino coworker concerning something that may be culturally sensitive, take a look at these six things to say to Latino coworkers.

What is your ethnicity?

The word Latino is an umbrella term that covers many different cultures. Although they are connected by the Spanish language, Cuban culture varies from Puerto Rican culture, which varies from Mexican culture, which varies from Colombian or Peruvian cultures.

"I was once told, 'Happy Cinco de Mayo!' by a coworker at a previous job who assumed all Latinos consider the fifth of May a holiday," says Mims. "He didn't know I was Puerto Rican and that Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday. If he had simply asked, 'What's your ethnicity?' or even, 'Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?' I could have easily answered, 'I'm Puerto Rican, but enjoy the festivities of Cinco de Mayo.'"

"We celebrate Cinco de Mayo and we're Cuban," says Rodriguez. "For St. Patrick's Day, my sister makes a mean corn beef! It's kind of hard because we don't really look at where the person's from to gauge what we should say or what we should not say because we treat everyone on the same path."

By phrasing the question in a general but direct way, you can avoid the embarrassment of making the wrong assumption while learning something about your coworker that you didn't know before.

How do you want to be perceived?

Different cultures have various fashions, and at times these differences may be at odds with the general attire needed for day-to-day business. But there are more effective ways to address the issue of a colleague's inappropriate attire than criticizing.

"I was the only woman on a government-affairs team in the South, and I was the only minority in the whole office," recalls Mims. "[My boss] called me into his office one day to have a conversation about the way I was dressed. He said, 'How do you want to be perceived when you walk over to the capital? Do you want to be perceived like you're a lobbyist or do you want to be perceived like one of the assistants or the secretaries?'"

Keeping away from a cultural reference and sticking to the point at hand can prove to be beneficial for not only the employee but the supervisor as well.

"He spurred a thought pattern in me that wasn't there before, that nobody had shared with me before," says Mims. "A lot of Latinos don't come from the background … their families have not walked in those places, in those rooms, among those types of situations to coach them to do that.

"I went back to him and said, 'You know what, all the other lobbyists were wearing suits.' And he looked at me and he goes, 'That's right.' And I said, 'I got it.'"

Share with me why you think that way.

Instead of expecting all Latinos to have similar opinions, ideas, experiences and backgrounds, a better approach is to see them as individuals first. That means you shouldn't expect your Latino colleague to answer for all Latinos when speaking about an issue.

"First of all, don't generalize because the only thing we have exposure to is what the media tells us and our own personal experiences," advises Mims. "You need to put aside what the media tells you [about a group of people].'You're different than other Latinos that I've met. Tell me more about why you think that way.' Or don't even make the cultural reference … and then it's no longer a cultural thing--it's just a difference in thinking."

What types of food are traditional in your family?

Taking the direct approach works well, especially when dealing with culturally specific things like food.

"I remember living in Birmingham and having one of my colleagues ask me if I ate Cuban sandwiches," says Mims. "I said, 'What do you mean? I've been a vegetarian since I was 21. Why did you ask me about the sandwich?' He said, 'Because a friend of mine was telling me he had one and that it was really cool, and I was just wondering what was in it.' And I said, 'Oh, so here's what's in it' … All of a sudden we got into what turned into this really good conversation about Cuban food, and what he really wanted to know was, when I came here did my parents change how they ate? He didn't know how to get there. He thought that would be too direct and too personal."

You got this job because you are the best candidate and you're Latino.

Let's face it: Successful Latinos, like other traditionally underrepresented groups, are often viewed as filling quotas rather than as accomplished professionals in their field. But that doesn't mean that being Latino doesn't give them a competitive edge for the same reason their experience does. In understanding that both a person's experience as well as his or her culture could be assets to a company, you gain a better perspective as to why they may be in that position.

"The truth of the matter is, if my being a woman and Hispanic is going to be of value to a company, which it should be, then I have to be willing to tap into my cultural resources and my gender resources because that's what gives me value in the position over somebody who doesn't have that," Mims says. "I can't get offended if they ask me, 'What do you think Hispanics are going to think about this?' That's the value that I bring. We have to start seeing what we inherently have as a value and being able to use that value rather than always getting offended. So if you hired me because I'm Hispanic, I might as well tell you how we think. That's why I'm there, and not some white woman who couldn't do that."

I'm sorry, I don't speak or understand Spanish. Please speak in English.

Out of habit, a bilingual Spanish-speaking employee may revert to their native tongue if they are around others who also speak the language. But if there are others in the room who don't understand, it can sometimes make them uncomfortable.

Rodriguez feels that in such a situation, it's OK to ask your coworker to speak in English. "If you're in a room with five people and two are Latino and three are not …whatever the case may be, it's rude for those two people to be speaking in a manner that the other people do not understand," says Rodriguez. "That goes more to a courtesy issue, not so much a race issue."