Much like our Ten Part Communications Series, emphasis is placed on developing practical skills and assessing situations where diversity is an issue and effective communication skills are needed. Participants will learn proactive listening skills and how to respond compassionately and effectively to stressful situations. We will focus on how to create an environment of trust and a sense of community, where similarities and differences are valued, acknowledged, and considered useful. We will take participants through a series of exercises that will help them learn more about each other and what each has to offer that is uniquely theirs.

Participants will:

• Learn how to assess a diversity conflict and utilize de-escalation techniques
• Develop meaningful ways of listening and responding to diversity concerns
• Learn how be proactive rather than reactive in their communications
• Create avenues for conversations to be developed and practiced
• Discover how our past experiences with diversity issues impacts others
• Learn how to assess a variety of diverse communication styles
• Develop facilitation skills to adapt to various diverse environments