VisualsSpeak blog

Why I keep talking about diversity and visual communications

At VisualsSpeak, we start conversations with photographs. When people select photographs in response to a question, they naturally select things that reflect their values. Values are deeply held, and tell a cultural group how to discern good from bad, and right from wrong. Our cultural values are at the core of what drives our beliefs and assumptions.

Diversity is quite complex. The Four Layers of Diversity from Gardenswartz and Rowe begins to show many of the factors that form who we are and what we believe. Read the rest of this entry »

I rode in the 2007 Providence Bridge Pedal in Portland Oregon along with my husband and 20,000 other people. There were three groups, those in blue vests who rode across 6 bridges (14 miles) , those in green vests who rode 8 bridges (24 miles) , and those in red vests who rode across 10 bridges (36 miles).

We started out with our people in green vests. It took me all of 10 minutes to start forming opinions as the red vests starting merging with our green vest people. Read the rest of this entry »

How does it really work in organizations?

I attended another evening program at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication facilitated by Jaime Wurzel of Intercultural Resource Corporation (IRC). It was titled: Applying Intercultural Concepts to the Promotion of Positive Change in Organizations.

IRC produces videos that show how individuals from different cultures interact. They include A Different Place : The Intercultural Classroom which shows how individuals from a variety of countries interact with a professor and each other in a learning environment. He has also created the The Cross-Cultural Conference Room: An Interactive Seminar that shows how groups from the same company located in different countries react to the same case study. I have learned a lot about cultural differences each time I have seen the videos. They also come with extensive materials for processing the experience with groups. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been facilitating a VisualsSpeak session on the first day of the Tailoring Training for Transitions class at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication for four years. The class is geared toward people who help others prepare to go abroad to work or study, often for extended periods of time.

It is a five-day class taught by Peggy Pusch and Bruce LaBrack. They have been teaching this class together for over a decade. The first time they created VisualsSpeak images together, Peggy almost ran Bruce off the table. Her image had lots of photos placed at angles to one another extending across the whole table. Bruce contained his close to the size of the background rectangle. I believe his was hanging off the edge of the table by the end of the process. Two very different professionals finding common ground by approaching the topic from different perspectives.

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I attended a program at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication by a colleague, Kate Berardo. Kate is an intercultural consultant and the founder of the online resource Culturosity. I make effort to attend her programs at conferences. I am also on a list serve she is on, and I always look forward to opening messages by her. Very bright young woman, always insightful. The session was titled, Training for transitions: Moving beyond ‘culture shock’ and the U-curve of adjustment.

The U-Curve

When speaking about how people experience moving from one culture to another, there is a commonly used model, often referred to as the U-Curve. There are many versions, but basically the premise is there is an emotional adjustment curve that begins with a ‘honeymoon’ or euphoria period, followed by a sinking into ‘culture shock’ which levels out to a return to ‘adjustment’ over time.

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The Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication offers a series of free evening programs at Reed College in Portland, Oregon July 11-27, 2007 . I will be presenting one of the programs with Peggy Pusch on Monday July 23 at 7:00 PM in Elliot 314.

Developing Culturally Competent Professional Associations

What makes culturally effective professional associations? How can interculturalists help the professional associations we belong to operate in more culturally sensitive ways? How can we create effective leadership teams in these associations? In this experiential session we will use VisualsSpeak to explore how leaders on boards of professional organizations can discover their collective values and determine how to reach goals of inclusiveness and intercultural competence. A process used with two leadership teams and one multicultural group focused on intercultural competence will be demonstrated and results from these sessions discussed.

If you are interested in the other programs that will be offered, you can download a schedule here. Reed College is located at 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland OR 97202.

The Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC) is held in Oregon each summer for three weeks. This year it will be held July 11-27 at Reed College in Portland. Sessions range from a couple of hours in the evening, to one day, three days, and five days. People come from all around the world to study with many of the leaders in the intercultural field.

What does this have to do with visuals in communication?

SIIC has played a huge role in the development of VisualsSpeak. First as a test bed while we were testing the tool, it was a gathering of people from around the world in one place. Second, attending the workshops has advanced my understanding of cross-cultural effectiveness.

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The Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC) happens for two and a half weeks each summer in the Portland, Oregon area. It brings people from all around the world together to study how to more effectively communicate across differences. Workshops range from one to five days, and the program is supplemented with evening programs and social events. This year it is happening July 11-29, 2007 at Reed College.

I have attended for the last three years as a participant and presenter, and will be presenting again this summer. It is always an amazing experience, and never fails to deepen understanding. Each year, I learn more about what I don’t know.

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