Indian Man In US Told To Stop Speaking In Meetings Over Accent: ‘Felt Dismissed, Insulted’

Last Updated:June 30, 2025, 13:26 IST

The man, who has been working with the same client in the US for over a year, is the only non-American on his team.

The man turned to Reddit to ask for suggestions on whether this is common. (Representative Image)

An Indian man working in the United States has claimed that he was asked to stop speaking in meetings because his accent was difficult to understand, leaving him feeling insulted and disappointed. The 32-year-old, who shared his experience on the r/IndianWorkplace subreddit, said this was the first time in his professional career that someone had told him to stop speaking due to his accent.

The man, who has been working with the same client in the US for over a year, is the only non-American on his team. Describing the incident, he wrote, “Today, during a meeting, I asked a team member (about 55 years old) for a project update as part of my regular responsibilities. He told me to stop speaking in meetings because he couldn’t understand my accent."

Sharing further context, he added, “My original request was simply for a progress update and accompanying pictures. Perhaps my question caught him off guard, given my position as a contractor and my relative age." He expressed that the experience left him “dismissed and insulted", explaining, “I’ve always made an effort to communicate clearly and professionally. No one else has said anything like this before. I have been with the same client for over a year now."

In his post, the man sought advice from others, asking, “Is this kind of reaction something others have encountered? How do you deal with something like this professionally without letting it damage your confidence or your contributions?"

How Reddit Users Reacted

One user wrote: “I have been in meetings with Russians, Vietnamese etc. where I could not understand a single word they said and had to ask for clarification again and again. We eventually had to open a shared google doc and write our Q & A in it."

Another user backed the Indian man and said: “Just tell him that’s a you-problem. lol jk, side note get your accent checked by a linguist/speech therapist: how neutral is the English. If it’s fairly neutral, you’re good, else work on it."

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