{"id":2123,"date":"2015-02-02T14:47:56","date_gmt":"2015-02-02T14:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buyingfacilitation.com\/blog\/?p=2123"},"modified":"2015-09-17T18:29:28","modified_gmt":"2015-09-17T18:29:28","slug":"diversity-bias-hear-different-people-differently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buyingfacilitation.com\/blog\/diversity-bias-hear-different-people-differently\/","title":{"rendered":"Diversity And Bias: How to Hear \u2018Different\u2019 People Differently"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all recognize diversity is important yet difficult to attain. We recognize that with diversity we\u2019re capable of creating all that\u2019s possible; without diversity we limit who gets heard, who gets to lead, what knowledge we deem important, what we teach our children. Indeed, mis- and underrepresenting categories of people cost an unimaginable price in money, possibilities, and life.<\/p>\n

People much smarter than I have evaluated the high cost of the lack of diversity. But I\u2019d like to offer a modest way to begin the process of overriding our biases: we can shift how we listen.<\/p>\n

BIASES ARE SILENT, STEALTHY EXECUTIONERS<\/p>\n

While researching my new book (What? Did you really say what I think I heard?<\/a>) <\/i><\/b>I learned that the listening process involves 1. our ears collecting and funneling the sounds of words spoken, then 2. our brain (using our unique, cultural, and historic beliefs, values, rules, etc.) interprets meaning from the sounds.<\/p>\n

Biases and assumptions occur when our brain notices \u2018differences\u2019 it deems \u2018unsafe\u2019 (judged against our status quo), causing automatic prejudice outside conscious awareness. I heard Malcom Gladwell, the noted author of Blink<\/i><\/b> say in an interview that when tested for unconscious racial bias, his results revealed something like a 53% bias against African-Americans \u2013 and he\u2019s half black. We end up living and thinking in bubbles of our own making. The ideas, the capability, the innovation that gets lost is unimaginable.<\/p>\n

At a dinner party once a man at my table discussed what I knew to be a na\u00efve idea in my area of expertise. I \u2018kindly\u2019 explained to him the error of his ways. He merely smiled. Afterwards I learned that I had been admonishing a Nobel Laureate (in a different field than mine). Had I known that, I might have listened to his ideas as merely different or even interesting. Ditto if he knew I was a noted expert on the topic. Maybe together we could have changed the world in a unique and wonderful way. Instead, we listened to the other with biased, judging, ego-filled ears. What would we each have needed to believe differently to be able to hear each other without restriction?<\/p>\n

On another occasion my biases potentially kept the world from glorious music. Visiting an ill friend at a nursing home recently I chatted with the orderly on staff. Whatever he heard me say motivated him to ask me to mentor him. I\u2019m embarrassed to admit I declined. Thankfully he persisted. I went to his place for a lovely dinner, serenaded by a CD of his wonderous compositions! I coached him going forward, to find funding to make his music available to the public. But I almost missed that opportunity because I immediately judged him negatively.<\/p>\n

LISTEN WITHOUT BIAS<\/p>\n

Realizing a part of the problem in judging others as \u2018different\u2019 lies with how we interpret what we hear, we can take steps to recognize when we are judging, biasing, or assuming, and then supersede our brain\u2019s natural tendencies and listen neutrally:<\/p>\n