Chapter 1 Exercises EXERCISE 1.1: DIVERSITY BOARD Purposes 1. To understand the multicultural diverse backgrounds of people. 2. To overcome negative expectations when communicating with strangers that are culturally dissimilar in some way. 3. To become aware that competence in intercultural communication requires a combination of knowledge, skills and motivation. Instructions The instructor should bring to class the Diversity Board (see below). The size of the Diversity Board can vary depending upon need and space restrictions. It consists of 35 boxes resembling a checkerboard each designating a specific role in our diverse society. Some of the roles in the boxes focus on race; others focus on other human aspects such as ethnicity, religion, health status, socioeconomic class, and life experience. With the aid of the instructor and/or fellow classmates a student is blind folded and led to the Diversity Board, which lies flat on the floor. The blindfolded student is then instructed to gently toss a small lightweight object onto the Diversity Board. The student’s role for this exercise is dependent upon the box on the Diversity board that the lightweight object lands. Once all students have thrown for their roles on the Diversity Board they will prepare to answer questions assuming the role that each student has landed on the Diversity Board. Examples of questions include: 1. What are the stereotypes others form of you? 2. How do you deal with such stereotypes in your communication interactions? 3. What sort of prejudice or bias have you experienced in our personal life and in the workplace? 4. How have you coped with such prejudice? 5. When was a time you gave off a good impression when communicating with others who were culturally dissimilar to you? In order for the questions to be answered sufficiently allow students time out of class to research their individual role from the Diversity Board. Encourage students to be as objective as possible in answering questions. In order to effectively supply answers students should research his or her individual role. This research can include personal interviews, consultation of books, periodicals, video and the Internet that enrich a student’s understanding of their assigned role. Conclusions After students have answered questions assuming the role from the Diversity Board, students are encouraged to answer questions from their own perspective about their experiences in conducting