As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company. During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise.

He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice. “It wasn’t until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person.” Tiffany admits. What she hadn’t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different” behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a family where respect for those in authority was shown by turning away your eyes. “I was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact, not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out, but will not miss that opportunity again.”

Many of us have had similar experiences with behaviors we describe as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions (假设) .

Hire Advantage

At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can have no personal biases (偏见) from the process have an obvious advantage. My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. A real estate (房产) agent we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make .

“During my Mindsets coaching period, I was taught how to own a diversified workforce. I employed people from different cultures and skill sets. The agents were able to make use of their full potential and experiences to build up the company. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.”

Blinded by Gender

Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops in charge of a diverse workforce. “Through some of the lessons, I discovered my personal bias.” he recalls. “I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person, and being open to differences.” In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender.

“I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My assumption would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel.” Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization’s ability to promote the full potential of a diverse workforce. “I learned from the class that instead of forcing my gender biases into the situation, I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision.” Dale sings high praise for the workshop, “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness.”

A better Bottom Line

An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations from inside, it is profitable as well. These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales.” Most of my customers speak English as a second language. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. It wasn’t until my boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. As a result, our customer base has increased.”

Once we start to see people as individuals, we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities and about building better communities and organizations. When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media, peers, family, friends, etc, we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are imperfect or contrary to our fundamental values. We need to train ourselves to think differently, shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us, creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone.

1. In Tiffany’s view, the first candidate was passed over because he ________.

A. was an Asian-American

B. didn’t perform as perfectly as the second one

C. was untrustworthy

D. showed no respect for authority

2.Tiffany’s misjudgment about the candidate originated from ________.

A. racial discrimination

B. cultural differences

C. gender discrimination

D. emphasis on physical appearance

3.What kind of organization is Mindsets LLC?

A. A real estate agency.

B. A hi-tech company.

C. A company dealing with financial affairs.

D. A company training workforce.

4.Which of the following statements will Dale not agree with about Mindsets LLC’s workshop?

A. It helped him make fair decisions.

B. It helped him discover his personal bias about gender.

C. It helped him look at a person as a whole one.

D. It helped him find successful candidates.

5.The last paragraph is intended to tell us the importance of ________.

A. viewing people as individuals

B. challenging our past

C. training ourselves in Mindsets’ workshops

D.building better communications

Students in American schools learn from an early age to give presentations(演讲) as part of their regular classroom activities. Children as young as five years old often give brief talks about objects they bring in to school – called “show and tell,” and this training is a basis for later public speaking. Even so, many native English-speaking adults are afraid to speak or give presentations in front of a large group.

Speaking English in public meetings is necessary for many students and employees. The best way to improve is to practice public speaking in a friendly environment. Learners need to receive feedback about what they are doing well and about their mistakes. One group that gives members the chance to practice is Toastmasters. Toastmasters is an international organization that holds weekly meetings. At the meetings, members each give a speech and give others advice about their speeches and speaking style.

Charles LeBeau is a public speaking professor and consultant. He began his career in Japan in 1982. Currently, he teaches at two universities and at the Toshiba International Training Center. He has also written books on the subject.

English language learners around the world use his book Speaking of Speech. Speaking of Speech tells about a method of teaching public speaking for non-native speakers. Mr. LeBeau says a simple approach helps English learners.

“The approach that I’ve taken is to simplify and break it down. First if we look at a presentation, what’s going on, there are basically three messages that the presenter is giving the audience, all simultaneously(同时). There’s what I call the physical message. Physical message is basically body language. It’s the way that my body, as a speaker, is talking to the audience. And then there’s also the visual message. The visual messages are the slides that we now make and show the audience. The third message is the story message. The story message is the content of our presentation. So another way we can think of the story messages is that it’s the verbal message, and it’s what we say to the audience. The story message also includes how we organize our ideas to present to the audience,” LeBeau said.

1. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The best way to improve is to practice public speaking in an unfriendly environment.

B. Toastmasters is an international organization that holds meetings every two weeks.

C. Only non-native English-speaking adults are afraid to give presentations in front of a large group.

D. At the meetings of Toastmasters, members give not only a speech but also advice.

2. What are the three messages given in Mr. LeBeau’s simple approach that helps English learners?

a. the physical message

b. the visual message

c. the story message

d. the verbal message

e. the basically body language

A. a b c B. b c d C. a b e D. c d e

3. The book Speaking of Speech by Charles LeBeau is mainly intended for___________.

A. children as young as five years old

B. non-native English speakers

C. native English speakers only

D. students in American schools

4. Which could be the best title for this passage?

A. Necessity of Speaking English in Public Meetings

B. Toastmasters, an international organization

C. Tips for Public Speaking

D. Charles LeBeau, a public speaking professor and consultant

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