Acronym

Wilny Audain gave an energetic and warming general session at Great Ideas on understanding diversity. Seriously, based on nothing more than his presentation, he’s the kind of guy you just want to fold neatly and put in your hip pocket to take out when you need a moment to change your outlook from glum to happy, from challenge to opportunity. He seemed happy and genuine, and it was infectious.

I don’t how much I got out of his presentation—more a reinforcement, I suppose than anything else – though I was left with one big uneasy question I’ll put in my next post. But in this one, I’ll list a few of the reinforcements, by way of his acrostic description of failure and success in communication.

We experience a failure in communication when we:

F – fear: most people have communication problems because of fear: fear of how they will be perceived, fear of not understanding, fear of not looking like they want to look.

A – assumptions: don’t make assumptions about people. Ask them instead.

I – insensitivity: it’s easy to be insensitive about what you don’t know. Resist the urge to tease or make fun, whether or not the subject of your insensitivity is there or not.

L – labeling: it’s a natural human tendency to put people in boxes. People will never fit in the box you’re trying to put them in. We, each of us, is an individual.

U – uncertainty: meaning being uncertain about yourself, not understanding your own heritage and why you are the way you are.

R – resentment: it’s too common to be resentful of people who are not like you just because they are not like you. You put someone in a box and then decide you don’t like the whole box.

E – ego: you might think your culture is the best culture—or is superior to other cultures for this reason or that. The fact is, all cultures are best and none are superior to others.

To achieve success in communication, you need:

S – self-awareness: be aware of who you are and be aware of how you come across to other people.

U – understanding: if you want another culture to understand you, your first step is to understand them.

C – care: people don’t care how much you know until you show how much you care.

C – control of self: when people are pushing your buttons, you must have self-control. There are some cultures you may not like, and that’s ok. But respect the differences and know the difference between disagreeing and attacking.

E – esteem for self: you have to be able to love yourself before you can love someone else. We reflect (and see) who we are.

S – self-confidence: it makes a difference when you walk into a room. Be confident about who you are—not superior—but be yourself and like what you are.

S – sharing: be willing to share yourself with others.