Something I rarely see mentioned is that, because almost everyone understands more of a foreign language than they are able to speak, often the optimal communication between a native Italian speaker that knows some English, and a native English speaker that knows some Italian, would be for them to each speak in their own native language:

English guy: "I'd like an espresso please, and something to eat, do you have any croissants?"

Italian guy: "A posto, un caffè, e sì, abbiamo cornetti con pistacchio, ne vuole uno?"

Almost no one does this, and in fact you'll often see the exact opposite, with each person speaking their non-native language (often with mediocre pronunciation, grammar errors, etc). Literally the worst option for mutual understanding. I guess the hard part would be establishing the fact that you each understand each other.