Skills

The five skills you can use are:

• Empathy
• Understanding
• Awareness
• Recognizing Consequences
• Fairness

Empathy

Empathy is "putting yourself in someone else's shoes." By this we mean considering how another person might think or feel in a specific situation. Empathy also involves looking at your own behavior from the other person's point of view.

Ways to promote diversity using empathy include:

• Listen to things people say and see the merit in other opinions
• Notice your body language
• Don't interupt others; this will help you listen to their opinions

Understanding

This skill is closely related to using empathy, but involves more of a process of critical self-evaluation and reflective thinking. Think of some ways in which your values, ideas, and attitudes may lead to or highlight prejudice. Try to equate the relationship between your patterns of thinking and patterns of behavior.

Ways to promote diversity using understanding include:

• Disregard commonly help stereotypes
• Examine your behavior and communication patterns when interacting with people different from yourself

Awareness

This skill encourages conscientiousness, not only in being mindful when interacting with others, but also in acknowledging, respecting, and being open to ideas and differing points of view. The more that knowledge is acquired about the issues relating to race and diversity, the less an individual will see alternative cultures as a threat to one's own culture or identity.

Ways to promote diversity using awareness include:

• Get to know persons from differing races and cultures than yours
• See movies and read periodicals involving other races or cultures
• Ask questions! Do not be afraid to clear up any aspect of a person's culture you do not understand
• Attend a multicultural event or program on campus
• Attend a cultural training seminar or workshop on campus

Recognizing Consequences

Every action or behavior has a consequence, either positive or negative. Prejudice and discrimination have negative consequences for all parties involved. Think about how your behavior might affect those people you interact with. Not only can your actions have consequences, but your lack of action can have an impact on others as well .

Ways to promote diversity using consequences include:

• Avoid telling and laughing at racist jokes
• Use words that are politically correct and do not offend anyone
• Sponsor activities that bring people together for an educational and learning experience

Fairness

Fairness is eliminating one's opinion and prejudices in order to achieve a balance of different interests. It is the belief in an action toward establishing and promoting equality among people. Genuiness is a necessary component of promoting fairness. Fairness also demands that laws protecting individuals are respected and followed and that people are treated as individuals.

Ways to promote diversity using fairness include...

• Offer the same opportunities to everyone
• Treat everyone with the same dignity and respect

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