How to Improve Intercultural Sensitivity : Overcome Ethnocentrism Through Avoiding Assumptions

Assuming things about other cultures before knowing the information is one way to develop misunderstanding. Learn how to improve intercultural sensitivity from a professional speaker and communications instructor in this free education video.

Expert: Tracy Goodwin
Bio: Tracy Goodwin has received numerous public speaking awards and has been a college professor of public speaking, interpersonal communications, voice and diction, and business speech for over a decade.
Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• cultural awareness
• intercultural sensitivity
• communication
• tolerance
• political correctness
• diversity
• diversity training
• multiculturalism

[smilinjack30]

@LOZandKHfreak ..someone who owned them had a higher probability for injury and thus decides, when looking for a home, not to rent or buy a house where pit bulls are present is illogical?

[smilinjack30]

@LOZandKHfreak ..before the instance arises when they are confronted with that decision. This is neither self defeating nor illogical. Getting educated and forming early decisions about different things is how we are able to learn to not make the same mistakes of history. I would use your own example to further explain. You mentioned pit bull terriers. Do you think that learning that they are statistically prone to violent attacks and subsequently making an assumption that living next to...cont

[smilinjack30]

@LOZandKHfreak I disagree on a few of your points. I don't think making a decision, pre-assuming as you put it, before there instance the decision needs to be made is illogical or self defeating rather the opposite. It is simply learning from data and being prepared for a certain situation if/when it arises. A child learns growing up in school that drugs are bad and are taught the statistics and downward spiral of their use. The point is to have kids make a decision about the use of drugs cont..

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

ps, sorry for making you read all that (if you do or did read it) but youtube only alows so large a comment

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

so i guess what im saying is, whilst assumption actualy is a safety mechanism, it is not a functioning one if you attempt to use it before any event to protect oneself occurs, and if anything, does more harm than good. not just to ones life, but to ones ethics, logic, and even morality. though "assuming" is actualy a good thing, what people, at least when talking about assuming the way the video does, should realy be emphisizing the danger of pre-assuming.

THE END

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

atempting to link past events and information with events yet to occur and information yet to be obtained defeats the point of assuming at all, since your trying to make an edjucated decision before there is even a decision to make.

Not only is the presuming or pre-assuming self defeating, its very illogical as well and, when you really think of it, even goes against the most basic principles of common sense.

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

Using the information they have previously gathered and are now gathering, assumption allows one to make quick educated decisions on things they may not know much about. Pre-assuming attempts to do the same thing before any new situation has occurred or any new information has been obtained.

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

While common sense is good for make exceptions to rules, it is not so for making rules and common sense is the main factor in making assumptions and so pre-assumptions.

When one makes any form of assumption they use there common sense to link past events to events now happening or just about to happen, allowing themselves to react the way they think is most correct.

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

one may retort, "People will have the common sense to adjust there views according to the situation" I do believe that for people, it is generally true, but i do not think it true for Common sense. By making the aforesaid assumption, one makes a rule inside their mind.Common sense says that there are always exceptions to rules, and allows one to use intuition to tell when that the rule can be denied.

[LOZandKHfreak]

@smilinjack30

Not only have they not thought of the multitude of people who would not harm them in a non-kitchen set (making a massive assumption on any non-kitchen situation) they have actualy made an error by assuming also that it does not matter who has a knife in a kitchen setting is, they are safe.(making a massive assumption on people with knives in general)