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re #2: Being a non-native speaker is fundamentally going to make things more difficult, but when the alternative is meetings with different accents and no time to look unfamiliar words up, a document culture seems far more accessible.

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That's a good point. The wider issue is of course that some people are smart, but not good at writing, and they might be sidelined in an organisation that leans heavily on writing. However, the corollary of that is smart people who are not good at talking get sidelined in an organisation that does a lot of talking. So that's an issue you will always have: the form of communication you focus on will always put some people at a disadvantage. It just means you have to be aware of that, and try and keep an eye open for people who have important things to say, but are struggling to get them across.

I find listening to heavy accents and persons struggling to find the correct words far more taxing than reading materials with confusing grammar and choice of words.

Surely in a company setting, it is possible to seek clarification from the original writer and then jointly rewrite the confusing parts.

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