What is Inclusive and Intercultural Communication?
When I first introduced the Inclusive and Intercultural Communications program to my clients, this question was raised outrightly by many of them who strongly felt why was there a need to have a program specially designed to focus more on the aspect of inclusion in communication over effective communication. My simple answer is: How organizations communicate with their employees and customers plays a significant role in attracting, developing, and retaining them. The channel and tone of the communication have to be inclusive to keep in view the diversity of employees and customers. Inclusive communication is about creating a two-way communication channel across the organization, more like having a conversation rather than broadcasting information. Intercultural communications allow organizations to send vital signals that they have truly bought into the business case for diversity and inclusion, thereby sustaining a comprehensive, integrated, and inclusive communications plan that reflects those efforts, embedding inclusion into every communication outreach and contributing largely to realizing common goals towards greater success. I know that there are many extenuating circumstances that organizations have to deal with, and I know that not everything is as simple as I am making it seem, but really, sometimes the accommodation really is this simple as running a program that is designed specifically for the organization.
In plain English, Inclusive communication is about sharing information in a way that everybody can get your message without feeling excluded, hurtful, or offensive. To be able to inclusively communicate means we recognize the fact that people we engage with express themselves in different ways and hence there cannot be one single, uniform, and consistent method in communicating with them. Also, it is not ok to assume that people who are, act, or look different from us must think differently or should be treated differently because of it. The key to inclusive communication is not in amplifying differences but to make communication and comprehension of it, more accessible to everyone regardless of the perceived difference.
We at Diverse Customer, believe that there cannot be an off-the-shelf program for all organizations or a one-size-fits-all mentality. Hence, at Diverse Customer, we have built the most customizable program if ever there was one helping organizations traverse effortlessly the inclusive communications minefield and get a deeper insight on how inclusive and intercultural communications can help them engage diverse audiences, globally. A growing number of organizations are re-engineering their entire vision towards building effective organizational frameworks centering around Diversity, Inclusion, Social Responsibility and by doing so, succeeding by leaps and bounds, both with internal(employees) and external(customers) stakeholders.
I act as a common thread between these two diverse skill sets. The link is also my ability to find both diverse customers and talent for my clients and in engaging myself in that activity, I help create a buzz around employer and customer branding for these cognitively diverse organizations.
Inclusivism especially in communications, both internal and external, helps in establishing trust in the brand and connect them to a diverse set of employees and consumers who become effective advocates for brand equity. I love to tell my clients that when I speak to a candidate or a customer and tell them how committed they are to Inclusion, they instinctively feel my client is a great employer and has a fantastic and inclusive work culture. It incites them to know more about my clients' products and services and by default puts them right in front of highly diverse crowds.
Please read through this blog and you will understand why it’s important for organizations to use inclusive language when discussing or referring to diverse audiences. Our program deals with many barriers to communication and puts in place the foundation to foster inclusive communications through and throughout.
I have listed countless examples and trust me the most genuine, recent messaging disasters that have cost organizations a massive drop in their revenues and reputation.
As promised, we will be coming with more insights on inclusive communications here at Diverse Customer with a series of posts and part of many programs we have been running successfully for our clients as per their very specific needs and strategies that only work best for them. We have extremely trusting relations with our clients and we take great care of the data that is shared and made public keeping in view that many sensitive elements cannot be disclosed on such public forums. But happy to share some insights with my readers and potential clients who come by this blog and are keen to engage in a conversation with us.
Do subscribe to the blog or email editor at
diversecustomer@gmail.com
-Amit Anand
In plain English, Inclusive communication is about sharing information in a way that everybody can get your message without feeling excluded, hurtful, or offensive. To be able to inclusively communicate means we recognize the fact that people we engage with express themselves in different ways and hence there cannot be one single, uniform, and consistent method in communicating with them. Also, it is not ok to assume that people who are, act, or look different from us must think differently or should be treated differently because of it. The key to inclusive communication is not in amplifying differences but to make communication and comprehension of it, more accessible to everyone regardless of the perceived difference.
We at Diverse Customer, believe that there cannot be an off-the-shelf program for all organizations or a one-size-fits-all mentality. Hence, at Diverse Customer, we have built the most customizable program if ever there was one helping organizations traverse effortlessly the inclusive communications minefield and get a deeper insight on how inclusive and intercultural communications can help them engage diverse audiences, globally. A growing number of organizations are re-engineering their entire vision towards building effective organizational frameworks centering around Diversity, Inclusion, Social Responsibility and by doing so, succeeding by leaps and bounds, both with internal(employees) and external(customers) stakeholders.
Do subscribe to the blog or email editor at
diversecustomer@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting!