The author of an article on the management-issues.com website tells a story: there were 12 people, not a single one of them a native English speaker. Still, everyone got what the others were saying perfectly.
When the American joined the call, he started demanding that everyone repeat what they said – he just didn’t understand. He also said the accents were a problem. Embarrassment and frustration followed. Why?
1) Language reasons
People in our workplaces are very often multilingual. They are capable and used to translating what they hear very quickly. On the other hand, many Americans only speak English and therefore aren't so used to deciphering phrases that are not clear to them and are easily distracted. (For example, many languages don’t have a hard “v” sound. Speakers of these languages then use the English sound of “w” instead.)
2) Cultural causes
Cultural differences also make it problematic. In many cultures it's not considered appropriate to criticize someone else directly. That means that these people take a longer path when they need to criticize someone. These issues aren't uniquely American. We all can use some advice.
Feel free to use chat during virtual meetings. Very often someone can be understood better when he or she is writing. By chatting privately, you can also ask a colleague to rephrase what was said. That way, you won't need to interrupt your colleague.
Having trouble understanding when someone speaks? Say so. Ask for clarification by rephrasing what you have just heard. You may suddenly get it. If someone actually has to repeat what was said to you, apologize.
-jk-