How to Communicate Professionally With International Colleagues

Our team gets this question a lot from people who land a remote role and then worry about how they come across on Slack, email and video calls with a manager in London or a teammate in Texas. The worry makes sense. On a remote team, colleagues judge you mostly by your messages, and a polite habit from a Lagos office can look odd, slow or overly formal to someone in Berlin.

This guide covers writing, tone, directness and feedback, time zones, meetings from Nigeria (power and internet included), and how to deliver bad news. It also includes sample messages you can adapt.

Quick answer

To communicate professionally with international colleagues, write short, specific messages in plain English that state what you need and by when. Use first names unless told otherwise, and replace Nigerian-English phrases like "kindly revert" with widely understood ones. Publish your working hours, reply within your team's agreed window, and say early when power, internet or a deadline is at risk. Confirm decisions in writing after calls.

What "professional" means on an international remote team

In many Nigerian offices, professionalism shows up as formality: "Good morning Sir," long greetings before the request, careful deference to seniority. On most international remote teams, especially at tech companies and startups, professionalism looks different. It means being clear, reliable and easy to work with.

In practice, your colleagues will judge you on things like these:

• Whether your message says what you need, from whom and by when
• Whether you reply within the time your team expects
• Whether people can tell when you are online and when you are not
• Whether you flag problems before a deadline, not after it
• Whether a decision made on a call ends up written somewhere

None of this requires a foreign accent or fancy vocabulary. Nigerian professionals who are clear and dependable in writing are often rated more highly than fluent speakers who are vague.

A useful idea here is low-context communication. In a low-context message, everything the reader needs is written down, and nothing depends on shared background, tone of voice or reading between the lines. International teams mix people from many cultures and work across time zones, so they lean heavily on low-context writing. Someone reading your message at 7am in their time zone cannot lean over and ask what you meant.

Write messages your colleagues can act on

Most remote communication is written: Slack or Microsoft Teams chat, email, comments in Jira, Asana, Notion or Google Docs. If you write well, you will look good in all of these tools.

Use plain English

The UK government's writing standards are a good model for international teams, because GOV.UK writes for many readers who don't have English as a first language. Its clear language guidance recommends:

• Splitting sentences that run over 25 words
• Keeping paragraphs to no more than five sentences
• Choosing short words over formal ones: "buy" not "purchase", "help" not "assist", "about" not "approximately"
• Explaining specialist terms the first time you use them
• Avoiding negative contractions such as "can't" and "don't", which some readers misread

That guidance was written for government web pages, but it suits workplace messages too. Your Dutch colleague who reads English as a second language will thank you for "I can't join" written as "I cannot join".

Put the request first

Busy readers decide from the first line whether a message needs action. Lead with the point, then give context.

Example (hypothetical): weak version

"Good morning everyone, trust you are all doing great. Please I wanted to ask about the client report, I was going through it yesterday evening and noticed some things in the numbers, so I was thinking maybe we need to check it again before it goes, what do you think?"

Example (hypothetical): stronger version

"Hi Sarah, can you check the Q3 revenue figure in the client report before 3pm UK time today? The total on page 2 ($48,200) does not match the dashboard ($46,900). I can fix it once you confirm which number is right."

The second version names the person, the task, the deadline in their time zone, and the evidence. It needs no reply to clarify.

A simple structure for longer updates

For status updates, handovers and end-of-day notes, use this pattern:

1. Done: what you finished, with links
2. Next: what you will do and when
3. Blocked: anything you need from someone, tagged by name
4. Risks: anything that could slip, with the reason

Short headings like these let a colleague in another time zone pick up your work at their start of day without waiting for you.

For deeper help with grammar, structure and tone, see our guide on improving your written communication for remote work. If you want to strengthen your spoken and written English for meetings and emails, read how to improve business English for international remote jobs.

Nigerian office habits that can read differently abroad

Nigerian English is a fully valid variety of English. Some of its everyday expressions, though, mean something different to a reader in London or Toronto, or are simply unfamiliar. Swapping them out at work is not about hiding who you are. It is about making sure your meaning arrives intact.

A few more points on formality.

Names and titles. Most US, UK and European tech teams use first names for everyone, including the CEO. If your manager signs off as "Tom", call him Tom. If you are unsure, copy what others in the channel do. Some teams, often in finance, law or with clients in parts of Asia, the Gulf or Germany, prefer more formality, and copying the people around you works there too.

Greetings. In email, "Hi Amara," followed by the point is normal. In chat, a full greeting paragraph before the request slows things down. A short "Hi" and the request in the same message is better than "Hello" on its own followed by a pause while the other person waits to find out what you want.

Pidgin and slang. Keep "no wahala", "abeg" and similar phrases for Nigerian colleagues who use them with you, and keep them out of shared channels.

Directness, feedback and disagreement across cultures

Cultures differ in how bluntly people say no, criticise work or disagree with a boss. The business professor Erin Meyer's Culture Map framework, developed at INSEAD, places countries on eight scales, including how cultures give feedback, make decisions and build trust. The framework compares cultures with each other; it does not rank any culture as better.

You do not need to memorise country profiles. Treat these as working rules.

When you receive feedback

Some colleagues will be blunter than you are used to. A Dutch or Israeli manager might write "This section is wrong, please redo it" with no softening. That is usually not anger. Other colleagues, often British ones, may soften criticism so much that it sounds like a suggestion: "You might want to have another look at section two" can mean "Section two needs fixing before this goes out."

If you can't tell how serious a comment is, ask: "Just to confirm, should I change this before we send it, or is it optional?" That one question saves a lot of misreading.

When you give feedback

Be specific about the work, not the person, and say what you would change:

Example (hypothetical): "The onboarding email reads well. The second paragraph is long for mobile readers; could we cut it to two sentences? I've suggested a version in the doc."

When you disagree

Many Nigerians grow up in workplaces where you don't openly challenge a senior person. On most international remote teams, silent disagreement is worse than polite disagreement. If you see a problem and say nothing, people assume you agreed.

A safe pattern: acknowledge the idea, state your concern with evidence, offer an option.

Example (hypothetical): "I see why we'd launch on Monday. My concern is that the payment test failed twice yesterday. Could we launch Wednesday after one more test run, or launch Monday without the payment feature?"

Saying "yes" when you mean "I heard you"

"Yes" or "OK" in a meeting can be read as "I agree and I will do it". If you mean "I understand, but I'm not sure I can do it by Friday", say that part out loud. Unspoken doubts usually turn into missed deadlines.

Time zones and availability

Time zones cause many communication problems on international teams. Know the gap, make your hours visible, and avoid sending messages that arrive in the middle of someone's night.

How Lagos lines up with common team locations

Nigeria uses West Africa Time (WAT, UTC+1) all year, with no daylight saving. Other countries change their clocks, so the gap moves. UK clocks went back on 25 October 2026, and US clocks go back on 1 November 2026.

So a New York colleague working 9am to 5pm their time is online from 3pm to 11pm in Lagos in winter, and from 2pm to 10pm in summer. A London team on 9am to 5pm overlaps exactly with Lagos office hours in summer and runs 10am to 6pm Lagos time in winter.

Always write times with a time zone

"Can we talk at 4?" is a trap on a global team. Write "4pm UK time (5pm Lagos)" or "10am ET / 4pm WAT". When you propose a meeting, offer two or three slots in the other person's time zone. That small courtesy signals that you are easy to work with.

Make your working hours visible

Your colleagues should never have to guess whether you are online.

• Google Calendar: If your employer uses Google Workspace, you can set working hours so others see when you are available. Google's working hours help page says this is for work or school accounts, must be set from calendar.google.com on a computer, and may be switched off by your administrator.
• Slack or Teams status: Add your hours and time zone to your profile, for example "WAT (UTC+1), online 10am to 7pm".
• Out-of-office: Block Nigerian public holidays in your calendar well in advance. Explain briefly that some holidays, such as Eid, move each year.

Schedule messages instead of sending at midnight

If you finish work at 10pm Lagos time and your London manager has gone to bed, schedule your message for their morning. In Slack, you write the message and click the arrow next to the paper plane icon to choose a send time (press and hold the icon on mobile), according to Slack's help centre. Gmail's Schedule send feature does the same for email, allows up to 100 scheduled emails, and sends based on the time zone you schedule in.

Scheduling protects your colleagues' evenings. It also stops your messages from making you look like you are always online, which sets expectations you can't keep up.

Agree response times

Ask your manager in week one: "What response time do you expect on Slack during working hours, and for email?" Teams vary a lot. Some expect replies within an hour; others are happy with same-day responses. Once you know, meet it consistently. For more on planning work around time gaps, see how to manage tasks across multiple time zones and managing different time zones without burning out.

Meetings and video calls from Nigeria

Calls are where accent, connection and background noise show up. A little preparation makes you look and sound professional.

Before the call

• Charge your laptop and make sure the inverter or solar backup is ready. If grid power is unstable in your area, assume it will go off mid-call.
• Have a second internet option ready, such as a MiFi plus your phone hotspot on a different network.
• Test your microphone. A cheap wired headset with a mic usually beats laptop speakers, and it cuts generator and street noise.
• Read the agenda and note one or two points you want to raise.

During the call

• Mute when not speaking if there is noise around you.
• If your bandwidth is weak, say so at the start: "My connection is unstable today, so I'll keep my camera off and turn it on when I speak." Saying it upfront is professional. Vanishing mid-sentence without a word is not.
• If you can't follow someone's accent or a word, ask. "Sorry, the audio cut out, could you repeat the last point?" is normal on any international call. Pretending to understand is the bigger risk.
• Speak a little slower than you would with Nigerian friends, and pause between points. This helps colleagues for whom English is a second language as much as it helps native speakers who are new to Nigerian accents.

After the call

Send a short written summary of decisions and owners, especially if you were the one with action items.

Example (hypothetical): "Thanks, all. Summary from today: (1) Launch moves to Wednesday 5 November. (2) I'll rerun the payment test by Tuesday 2pm UK time. (3) Priya will update the client. Shout if I missed anything."

That note shows you listened, gives the team one record of what was agreed, and helps anyone who missed the call.

Delivering bad news: outages, delays and mistakes

Problems themselves rarely damage your reputation. Surprises do. International colleagues usually accept a power cut or a sick day. What frustrates them is finding out after the deadline has passed.

Power or internet outage

Keep it short, factual and solution-focused. You do not need to explain Nigerian electricity tariffs.

Example (hypothetical): "Heads up: power and internet are down in my area. I'm switching to my backup connection and should be back online within 30 minutes. The design file is already in the shared folder if anyone needs it before then."

If outages happen often, fix the setup rather than apologising every week. Colleagues will tolerate the occasional outage, but not a pattern.

A deadline is at risk

Flag it as soon as you know, with a new date and a reason.

Example (hypothetical): "I won't finish the data cleaning by Thursday as planned. The source file has about 2,000 duplicate rows I didn't expect. I can deliver Monday by 12pm UK time, or deliver a partial version Thursday covering the first three regions. Which works better?"

Giving two options turns a problem into a decision your manager can make quickly.

You made a mistake

Own it in one sentence, then say what you have done and what you will change.

Example (hypothetical): "I sent the client the draft version of the invoice instead of the final one. I've emailed them the correct file and apologised. Going forward I'll check the file name against the tracker before sending."

Avoid long apologies or blaming the tool. One clean acknowledgement reads as confident.

Small talk, names and topics to handle with care

Good working relationships on remote teams are built in small moments: the chat before a meeting starts, a reaction to a colleague's news. These moments matter, and a few habits help.

• Learn names properly. Ask how to pronounce a colleague's name and use it. Add a phonetic spelling of your own name to your profile if people stumble over it, for example "Oluwaseun (oh-loo-WAH-shay-oon), Seun is fine".
• Share a little about Nigeria. Colleagues are often curious about Lagos, jollof or Detty December. Light, positive detail builds rapport.
• Be careful with politics, religion and jokes. Humour often doesn't survive translation, and sarcasm in writing is easy to misread. Keep jokes gentle until you know the team.
• Use emoji the way your team does. A thumbs-up to acknowledge a message is standard on many teams. If nobody uses emoji, don't start.
• Keep work in work channels. Many international teams do not use WhatsApp for work, and some forbid it for security reasons. Move work conversations to Slack, Teams or email even if a colleague first contacts you elsewhere.

For more on turning colleagues into allies, read how to build relationships with remote colleagues. If your manager is abroad and you are trying to make your work visible to them, see managing your career when your manager works in another country.

Common mistakes to avoid

These come up again and again with remote workers new to international teams:

1. Sending "Hello" alone and waiting for a reply before asking the question
2. Saying yes on a call, then raising doubts privately or not at all
3. Writing times without a time zone
4. Going silent during a power or internet outage
5. Copying the whole team on a message meant for one person
6. Replying at 2am Lagos time, which sets an expectation of being always online
7. Leaving decisions from calls unwritten
8. Using "Sir" or "Ma" with peers after they have signed off with a first name

Frequently asked questions

Should I call my foreign manager "Sir" or "Ma"?

Usually not. Most international remote teams in the US, UK and Europe use first names at every level, and "Sir" can feel stiff or create distance. Follow your manager's lead: if they sign off as "Jenny", call her Jenny.

Is "kindly revert" wrong?

It is not wrong in Nigerian or Indian English, but many readers elsewhere understand "revert" as "return to a previous state". "Please reply" or "Please get back to me by Friday" is understood everywhere. "Kindly" is fine in moderation, but plain "please" is more common.

How quickly should I reply to messages on Slack or Teams?

There is no universal rule, so ask your manager in your first week. Many teams expect replies within a few hours during working hours, with urgent issues handled by a call or a direct mention. Whatever the agreed window, consistency matters more than speed.

Should I tell my team when NEPA takes light or my internet goes down?

Yes, briefly and early. Say what happened, how you are working around it and when you expect to be back, without a long explanation. If outages are frequent, invest in backup power and a second internet connection rather than relying on apologies.

What if I can't understand a colleague's accent on a call?

Ask them to repeat or rephrase. On international calls this is completely normal, and you can blame the audio if that feels easier. Turning on live captions, if your meeting tool offers them, and reading the written summary afterwards also help.

How do I disagree with a senior colleague without sounding rude?

Acknowledge their point, state your concern with a fact, and offer an alternative. For example: "That makes sense for speed. My concern is the failed test yesterday; could we run one more test first?" Most international teams value this kind of disagreement more than silent agreement.

Do I need perfect British or American English to work with international colleagues?

No. Colleagues care far more about clarity than accent or perfect grammar. Short sentences, specific requests and written follow-ups matter more than vocabulary. A free grammar checker can catch typos before you send.

Key takeaways

• On international remote teams, being professional means being clear and reliable more than being formal.
• Put the request, owner and deadline (with a time zone) in the first lines of a message.
• Swap Nigerian-English phrases such as "kindly revert" and "I'm coming" for wording readers everywhere understand.
• Make your working hours visible, agree response times, and schedule messages for your colleagues' mornings.
• Ask when you can't tell how serious feedback is, and disagree openly with evidence rather than staying silent.
• Report outages, delays and mistakes early, briefly and with a fix or options.
• Write up decisions after every call.

Next steps

Pick three habits from this guide and use them this week: add your hours and time zone to your work profile, write times with a time zone, and send a summary after your next call. If you are still looking for a team to join, browse remote roles open to applicants in Nigeria on WorkRemote.ng job listings, where each listing shows where applicants may live. Save your search with "Get email updates" to receive a daily digest of new matching jobs. Preparing for interviews? Our interview question guides by role show how to show good communication before you're hired.

Sources

• Clear language, GOV.UK writing standards (Government Digital Service)
• The Culture Map, Erin Meyer
• Schedule messages in Slack, Slack Help Center
• Schedule emails to be sent, Gmail Help
• Set your working hours and location, Google Calendar Help