From the course: Communicating about Culturally Sensitive Issues

Word choice is everything: Principles vs. rules

From the course: Communicating about Culturally Sensitive Issues

Word choice is everything: Principles vs. rules

“

- Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the ever-evolving landscaped of political correctness? Approaching culturally sensitive interactions from a rules-based perspective can be scary and overwhelming. You don't know all the rules and it feels like you're walking through a mine field. However, instead of approaching these interactions from a rules-based perspective, it's better to focus on principles, such as respect and effective communication. By doing so, we can ensure that our interactions are respectful, inclusive, and effective. Our ultimate goal is to build and maintain positive relationships with others and focusing on principles rather than rules can make this much easier to achieve. What one word means to you might not be what it means to someone else. Just because we're both speaking English doesn't mean that we're speaking the same language. At this point in history, the world is changing so rapidly that our language is struggling to keep up. The same word can mean different things to different people and some of the terms you may be using may be completely foreign to your conversation partner. Think, for example, about the use and connotations of personal pronouns in the last few years. The first time somebody asked me for my PGPs, I had to first ask what a PGP stood for. And now, for those of you who are about to Google PGP, it stands for Preferred Gender Pronouns. When someone uses a word you don't understand, or you use a word that you think the other person might not understand, your safest bet is to stop the conversation and get or provide clarification. While asking for a definition sounds like an incredibly basic principle, it is not. Some people would rather misunderstand a term than be embarrassed by displaying a gap in their knowledge. They're afraid of being vulnerable enough to admit that they don't understand. And if either of you is unclear on what the other person is saying, both of you will struggle to communicate effectively. Defining terms also helps us to avoid semantic arguments, which focus on disagreements over the definition of the words being used rather than the relevant facts. Once you've agreed to the definitions of the terms you're using, the conversations should go much more smoothly. The goal here is to have better communication and mutual understanding and you can achieve this by following the principles of respectful communication.

Contents