Respectful Communication Across Different Identities
How do you think about this and put it into practice?
At the heart of each of us is an ‘identity’ — or a few. The irony of this word, is that it’s related to “identical” — but personal identities are like fingerprints, all unique.
How do we communicate respectfully in this dichotomy?
A dichotomy is a division or contrast between two things that are entirely different, or opposed.
Every person is different. A knot of identities, values, and experiences.
Communication — at its core — means to “make common”.
Not to agree, but to find common-ness.
Each of us are individual Selfs. Unique in all our glory, and hurts and shames and experiences. This is the centre of the nested circles — the social-ecological systems in which we live, work, and play.
We share some identity characteristics with Others. We are linked and embedded in relationships with Others, whether we like it or not.
Thus, identities can be linked through family ties, names, kinship, or others. We have friends and peers that also influence our identities.
These are some of the personal and social aspects of identity. There are a…
