Ten PC Tips for Communicating with a Diverse Audience
by Simma Lieberman

By learning to speak to a diverse audience, you can broaden
your client base transfer the learning to more people. We
need to be more "PC". Were not talking "political
correctness", were talking "Positively Conscious", of who is
in our audience and understanding how to make people feel
included. The more people feel included, the more they will
listen to you, use your information and come back for more.
If you offend people they will shut down and you will lose
them.

1) Use words that include rather than exclude. While some
women don't mind being called ladies, in a professional
setting the word women is more appropriate. Be "positively
conscious" of pronouns when discussing hypothetical cases. I
have been inn workshops where the facilitator spoke as
though all managers were "he" and all administrative support
were "she". Metaphors are very effective. Remember to mix
them. Don't use only sports metaphors. Have a balance. In
Europe when they think of football they think of soccer. Be
aware that people have different abilities. Instead of
telling everyone to stand, you might say everyone who is
able please stand, and have a way for others to participate
in the exercise.

2) Learn the demographics of the audience before your
presentation, and prepare.

3) Do not assume everyone shares your religious beliefs.

4) Look at everyone in the audience and smile at them.
Speakers can have a tendency to visually relate to people
who look more like them. Assume everyone wants to be valued.


5) Do not use humor that puts down any particular group. If
you are not sure, get feedback from others.

6) Examine your assumptions about people who are different
than you. Be open to letting go of those assumptions.

7) Do not be afraid to ask for the correct pronunciation of
someone's name.

8) If someone has an accent and you can't understand them,
ask them to repeat what they said slowly, because what they
are saying is important to you.

9) Use methodology in your presentations to accommodate
different learning styles. Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

10) Be comfortable with silence. In some cultures that can
mean respect and attention. Be comfortable with direct
interaction. In some cultures that can mean respect and
attention. Be comfortable with saying, " I don't know."

Simma Lieberman helps organizations create environments
where people can do their best work and be successful. She
specializes in Diversity and Inclusion, Diversity
Dialogues, and Eliminating Fear and Self-doubt. Simma is the
co-author with Kate Berardo and George Simons of the book
"Putting Diversity to Work." She can be reached at
http://www.simmalieberman.com