Experiencing difference through workplace diversity training activities

Workplace Diversity Training

First Activity -- Feeling Different

In this activity a group of workers (from diverse cultures) are asked to participate in a diversity training session, and they arrive in a room together waiting for instructions. They are asked to take a seat. The seats are arranged in a big circle.

(One) The leader of this activity asks each participant to recall a time when they felt different from everyone else around them. Did you ever walk into a room and you were the only African-American person, or you were the only male in a room full of females? Maybe there was a time when you were the only person who spoke Spanish, or the only person who spoke English -- what was it like to experience that incident?

(Two) Each participant is asked to think of just ONE WORD that explains how it felt to be the only one speaking Spanish or the only Caucasian in a room full of African-Americans, etc.

(Three) Participants are to walk around the room and instead of introducing themselves to all the other participants using their names, they are asked to use the ONE WORD in the introduction. For example, if a participant was once the only person that could hear in a room-full of people using sign language, he may have felt isolated. Hence as that person shakes hands with another in the room he says, "Hello, I'm ISOLATED" (Lambert, et al., 1994).

(Four) Once all the participants in the room have had a chance to meet, they should now return to their chairs and talk about their experiences -- with the entire group listening as each person describes that situation that resulted in that ONE WORD. As each participant takes a turn to talk to the group, he or she writes the ONE WORD that applies to their situation on the flipchart at the front of the room.

(Five) The group leader explains at the conclusion of the session that by remembering how we felt when we were the only one in any particular situation it will help us become more sensitive to the feelings of others.

Third Activity -- Spider Web

Ten or twelve employees are asked to stand in a circle and one individual is handed a ball of twine. After that person explains an "embarrassing story about his past" that relates to a situation in which he was out of place or out of touch. Once finished with that story, the person tosses the ball of twine to someone across from him but holds on to the end of the twine. Once everyone in the group has had a turn, the group can clearly see all participants are connected by the twine and by their having experienced embarrassing situations (Fagnani, 2010).

In conclusion, there are many ways to bring employees to a better understanding of the value of diversity, but first leaders in companies must establish that being different is just part of being human. All employees deserve to be respected notwithstanding their nationality, skin color, language, gender, etc.