Strategies for Effectively Communicating through an Interpreter

On November 23, we offered a webinar called Strategies for Effectively Communicating through an Interpreter.  There were some follow-up questions that people asked on our post-survey, and our presenter, Betty, has answered them below.

For additional information, programs can purchase the Authentic Voices Educational Setting, which I believe would be most compatible with Cooperative Extension programming.  Additional information can be found at our website: www.diversity-project.org

 

1.      How to address the community interpreter if s/he is adding in their own content. I have observed sometimes it can enhance the session when cultural info is shared, but it can also take us off track. I'm also concerned, too, by elaborating on the content, the interpreter may not be giving correct information.

 

Anything that an interpreter says should be said in both languages of the meeting/session.  If an interpreter is going to add cultural information aimed at increasing understanding, they should announce their shift from direct interpretation to sharing cultural information.  They would then repeat the information in both the source and target languages.  Finally, they would announce their shift back into the role of interpreter, and the session would continue.  If the educator wanted to expand or clarify any information as a result of the interpreter’s sharing, they would be able to do so.  The interpreter would interpret their response.

 

2.      How to handle interpretation with a mixed audience with multiple primary languages.

 

It depends on whether you are using simultaneous or consecutive interpretation. 

 

With simultaneous interpretation and interpretation equipment, the interpreters would out of the way be in the back and sides of the room.  Participants would be wearing headsets corresponding to their spoken language.  The interpreter speaks at the same time as the speaker, speaking at the same rate with only a few seconds of lag time.  The speakers flow is a sentence or two behind the speaker.  When a participant who speaks one of the target languages has a question or comment, the interpreter for that language will use consecutive interpretation to interpret what they say.

 

When the interpreters are providing consecutive interpretation, the interpreter alternates with the speaker, each person speaking a few sentences at a time.  For a large group presentation, the interpreters would stand at the front of the room along with the presenter.  The presenter would say a few sentences in the source language, and then the interpreter would repeat the information in the target language.  In this instance one source language and one target language is the preferred.  I would not recommend more than two target languages.  With a bilingual meeting, the session will take twice as long, as everything needs to be said twice.  With a trilingual meeting, the session will take three times as long, because everything is being said three times.  It is critical to plan for the extra time.

How to Faciliate Difficult Conversations

In light of the recent events at University of Missouri and Yale, and the protests these events have sparked across University campuses across the country, we thought it would be helpful to repost a webinar we presented earlier this year. The presenters in this webinar answer the question "How can I facilitate a difficult conversation on multicultural issues?"


Webinar: How to Facilitate Difficult Conversations 


Please continue the conversation in the comment section!


What strategies have you or your colleagues used in addressing multicultural issues?
What questions do you have?  Answers?

Volunteering in Under-Resourced Communities: Challenges for Urban Master Gardeners

On April 29, I had the pleasure of sharing research I completed as a graduate student via webinar for this eXtension community of practice. The webinar focused on the results of a study that investigated the challenges of the engagement process associated with volunteering in low-income urban communities of color, as perceived by Master Gardeners. This research used qualitative research methods and was completed between 2011/2012. At the time, I was also serving as a University of Minnesota “Master Gardener intern,” the title given once is granted admission to the program and the period in which educational coursework and volunteer hours are being completed. The purpose of this study was focused on the question, “What challenges or barriers exist within the Master Gardener program in reaching and volunteering in low-income, urban communities of color as perceived by Master Gardeners?”  This study took place in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN) metro area.

After the webinar, I was asked to address the following question:

“How do you stress the importance of reaching parity in Extension programming to volunteers?  Many do not seem to understand this no matter how much we explain it's USDA requirements, many also don't seem to care about it as a personal value.”

As the question notes, our own personal values and beliefs play a role in ensuring program volunteers, staff, etc. reach broad audiences. Working in diverse, under-resourced communities has greatly shaped my views on health and has allowed me to better understand how social, political, and economic factors greatly influence behavior and overall health outcomes.  Previous jobs that included providing care through home visits to young Latina and African American mothers in Grand Rapids, MI and then as a refugee nutritionist on Chicago’s diverse north side neighborhoods have served as some of my most valuable education/teachings.  These personal experiences and interactions pushed me to want to learn more.  I wanted to better understand these larger factors – the social determinants of health and how best to ensure health for all people.

A few resources to consider when thinking about the need for diverse, equitable and inclusive work -

• The “Gardener’s Tale,” an allegory for racism adapted from work of Camara Phyllis Jones and theoretical framework.
• The Impact of Racism on Health and Well-Being, a webinar series by the American Public Health Association
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Principles of Community Engagement

 

Sarah Eichberger is a registered dietician who has been working in urban community settings with diverse populations since 2003.  She is currently an extension educator for Michigan State University focusing on chronic disease prevention and programming.

 

Safe Spaces for LGBTQ Youth at Camp

On April 14^th of 2015 I had the opportunity to present a webinar on Working with LGBTQ Clients, a basic sensitivity and 101 training on how to define, talk about, and work with folks who identify as LGBTQ. After the presentation there was a discussion on sleeping arrangements at summer camps and the best ways to protect those that are disenfranchised due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.  At my current place of work, I do not interact with anybody under the age of 16. Our main goal is to provide safe housing services to LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. I have never worked in an overnight summer camp setting, but, regardless – safety is of major concern for us at the Ali Forney Center and many of the same concepts apply. 

I had suggested that because children in general educational settings are often rewarded for following the rules and given consequences for breaking the rules – that this framework could be applied to a camp setting. Every time a camper was heard or seen bullying, being disrespectful, or making fun of a peer because they identify as or are perceived to be part of the LGBTQ community;  they would lose a privilege that is normally given to campers on any given day.  On the flip side, any time a young person was seen being an ally – standing up for their peers, trying to stop bullying behaviors, or being intentionally inclusive to someone who has been considered an outsider; these young people would gain an extra privilege. Similar to a “golden star” system in the classroom, young people would be recognized and rewarded for being role models at camp, while simultaneously assisting staff in maintaining a safe space for all of the campers.

Children have the power to be leaders in their peer groups. Another idea I had was to elect, or appoint, a young person in each cabin to be “Cabin Leader,” or “Safety Monitor.”  This person would be responsible for holding their peers accountable to respectful, kind, and non-violent behaviors.  The leaders of the cabins would be given a basic understanding of what signs to look out for and what the process is when they witness discrimination in their cabin.  Staff would always be included in this process, and young people should always know how to reach their assigned staff person in these cases. This would be especially important in bunks where there are transgender youth.  Transgender youth should always be given power to choose which gender they feel safest bunking with. Not all transgender girls (people whose sex was assigned male at birth but who now identify as female) might want to bunk with cisgender (people who identify with the sex assigned to them at birth) girls, and vice versa.  Staff should always honor their choice or do their best to facilitate the safest and most respectful sleeping arrangements for these young people.   Staff should also be intentional about bunking transgender youth with other young people that demonstrate their ability to accept and honor their peers’ identities. “Cabin Leaders” or “Safety Monitors” would also be rewarded for maintaining the cohesion of their cabins.

If your camp does not already, all staff should be mandated to competency trainings for working with LGBTQ youth.  This should be given as much priority as any other safety training (First Aid, Universal Precautions, CPR, etc.)  The mental health of LGBTQ young people is largely determined by their environments, in their ability to be who they are without being harmed or bullied or told they do not exist or aren’t real. If staff cannot uphold a safe space for their campers, how will they hold campers to this necessary standard?

Link to webinar: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p1uab18szaj/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal

Nicole Giannone is currently Director of Program Evaluation, Training and Advocacy at the Ali Forney Center in New York, NY. 

Tools for Attracting a Diverse and Culturally Competent Applicant Pool (Part 3)

Assessing a Candidate’s Multicultural Skills and Competencies: Sample Interview Questions 

By: Dionardo Pizaña

One way to measure the success of any organization committed to diversifying its employees is to visibly see diversity reflected in its workforce across race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc. and at every level of the organization. In many cases, this is a long term process to not only hire diverse employees, but more importantly to retain these employees and support their success.  Another opportunity for organizations committed to inclusion is to expect that all employees, regardless of background or position that they are applying for, to possess multicultural experiences, skills and competencies as part of their professional portfolio. With this consideration in mind, it may be helpful to consider using questions similar to those found below, during the interview process, to delve deeper into the candidate’s skills or competencies related to diversity and inclusion:

 

1.  This position has responsibilities for reaching traditional and new and diverse audiences across race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc. within Agricultural and Natural Resources.  Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to reach this goal effectively.  Provide us with at least one example from your past experiences, what you learned from the experience and how you would apply this learning to this position. 

2.  ________University has, as one of its organizational values, the support of diversity, multiculturalism and inclusion.  Please describe how you see these values as relevant to the position for which you are applying.  Specifically, give at least one example of how you see the responsibilities of this position playing a part in promoting these values. 

3.  Describe a multicultural experience you had with an ethnic/racial group other than your own and the outcomes of that experience that lead you to think/believe that you were effective.

4. Describe a time when you initially had trouble understanding the point of view of someone of a different ethnic, racial or cultural background.  What steps did you take in order to better understand this person’s point of view?  How did this influence your own point of view?   

5.  Describe a time when you were supervising a staff and there was a cultural conflict between two members of that staff.  How did you discover the conflict?  How did you handle it?  What did you learn about yourself as a supervisor in the process? 

6. You have been asked to work with your department to launch an initiative to educate and connect a more racially diverse constituency to the mission and resources of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.  How would you go about providing leadership for this request?  How would you determine that this process had been successful? 

7. MSUE works with a diverse representation of the population across the state in all program areas, please share with us your experience working with diverse populations and how you have measured success for the work you have done with these diverse populations.  

8.  You are made aware of a situation in a county that may end up with a Civil Rights claim being filed.  A county on the western side of the state with a growing Latino population has struggled to engage Latino youth and volunteers in 4 H clubs.  Many of the Latino parents feel their children are unwelcomed by established clubs and the focus of these traditional clubs don’t seem to meet their needs.  How would you handle this situation and what would be your immediate, short and long term goals? 

9. You get a call from a staff person who has recently learned about a need to provide programming for a population of adults who are hard of hearing or deaf.  She sees the need and potential for working with this population, but doesn’t know exactly where to start or what resources she might need or have access to.  She has come to you because she is curious about any teaching techniques or strategies that you would recommend.   What advice and support would you provide this staff person?  

10. In what ways have you seen the issues of race, gender, class and other differences inform your work and research and what do you see as areas for growth for yourself in becoming more culturally competent?  

11. Describe a time when you implemented a teaching strategy or used diverse curriculum content to support a learning environment that was inviting and inclusive for all?  How did you know it was successful? 

12. Think back to a professional development opportunity that you attended in the past 5 years that supported your learning about issues of diversity, cultural competency or inclusion?  What stood out for you as important about this learning and how have you integrated what you learned into your personal and professional life? 

13.  Describe a time when you missed an opportunity in a professional setting to address an issue related to diversity, multiculturalism or inclusion? For example, maybe an offensive remark was made, an offensive joke was told or a co-workers diverse perspectives or realities were discounted or minimized. How did that make you feel and what have you done since to be better prepared to address similar opportunities? 

When developing interview questions for potential candidates that explore their understanding or experience related to multiculturalism, diversity or inclusion, it is important ensure that the questions:

1. Are directly related to the work of the position for which the applicant is applying

2. Are designed to elicit the specific information being sought and are not vague

3. Provide an opportunity to demonstrate specific knowledge or skills related to diversity, multiculturalism or inclusion 

4. Are used as one of several processes to determine a candidate’s success for the position that they have applied

 

What other questions have you found useful in determining a candidate’s cultural competency skills?

How has the addition of questions related to diversity, multiculturalism or cultural competency added value to your candidate interview and selection processes?

 

Adapted  in part from “Hiring for Cultural Competence: Practical Methods and Strategies to Get What You Need,” by Chris Cullinan, PhD., June 2004.

Tools for Attracting a Diverse and Culturally Competent Applicant Pool (Part 2)

By: Dionardo Pizaña

There are several other additional intentional strategies, tools and processes an organization can implement when looking to diversify its workforce.  Some of these strategies, tolls and processes may already be reflected in your recruitment and hiring processes, however, they may not have the intentional focus on equity and inclusion needed to yield a more diverse candidate pool.  In addition to intentionally implementing these strategies, tools and processes, organizations also need to have strong and accountable leadership helping to guide the decision making and organizational culture change processes necessary to not only hire a diverse and culturally competent workforce but to also retain these individuals.

Below are a few examples of strategies, tools and processes that can be implemented to support your organizational commitment to diversifying your workforce and supporting an inclusive and equitable organizational culture:

Assemble a diverse search committee – Be intentional and strategic in assembling a search committee that is as diverse as possible across race, gender, position within the organization and other differences especially those pertinent to the position.  If your organization lacks diversity within staff, this may provide you with an opportunity to engage community partners in your search process.  Inviting a diverse individual from a community organization not only helps to diversify your committee, it may also strengthen the relationship you have with this organization and bring a perspective and insight not found within your organization.  This may also provide an opportunity from a diverse partner to learn more about your organization and hiring process so this individual can provide insight to colleagues or community members for future employment opportunities.

Develop and nurture a diverse network – It is no surprise that many vacancies are filled by individuals who know someone within the organization.  It may not only be that an individual is familiar with someone within the organization, it may matter just as much that a current employee can provide support and advocacy for a prospective candidate.  This is why it is imperative that leaders within an organization develop and nurture a diverse network of community, state and national contacts and partners, at all times, not just when a vacancy occurs or is anticipated.   This diverse network can be developed and nurtured by being engaged with local and national organizations like the NAACP, local chapters of historically black fraternities and sororities, local diverse agencies, and diverse faith based organizations, among others.  At a national level, organizational leadership should be engaged with and attend professional conferences and organizations such as the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education, the Society for the Advancement of Hispanic/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), National Association for Multicultural Education, the White Privilege Conference, and Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRSS) among others.  Attending these conferences and professional organization gatherings will expose leadership to emerging issues with these diverse constituents, learn about and meet emerging diverse leaders or potential employees and show a visible top level, organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion.  Additionally, many of these professional conferences and organizations have job posting options available through their websites and journals for searches conducted at a national level. 

Develop a diversity informed, intentional hiring process – It is essential that your organization develop a process that intentionally prioritizes inclusion and diversity when recruiting and hiring new staff.  Some ways in which this can achieved might be developing a “candidate evaluation grid” for committee members to evaluate written documentation from candidates related to the job responsibilities.   This option suggests that the job posting has skill/desired qualities or responsibilities that explicitly highlight issues of inclusion, equity and diversity like, 1). Spanish/English language proficiency desired 2). Experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse U.S. communities, 3).  Proven record of building and sustaining culturally and linguistically networks and partnerships, 4). Evidence of ongoing personal and professional development related to issues of inclusion, equity and cultural competence, as a few examples.  Including these explicit desired or preferred candidate qualifications, among other qualifications for the position, will allow committee members to assess a candidate’s written materials through a lens of diversity, inclusion and equity. 

Providing more than one opportunity to interview a prospective pool of candidates by phone or other teleconference medium, can help to build a relationship with candidates while digging deeper into the candidate’s knowledge of the job, interest in the job and knowledge of the organization they have applied to.  Adding this extra step may feel time consuming and unnecessary; however, it may be helpful to slow down the hiring process even in the midst of the urgency to hire someone and may help committee members in their discernment of individuals to keep in the candidate pool.  It may also provide an opportunity to ask additional questions related to issues of diversity, inclusion and equity.

Throughout the interview process it is also recommended that behavioral based, reflective and open ended questions be central to the engagement of the candidate as you assess their skills and competencies for the position.  Part 3 of this blog series will provide examples of these types of questions.  Additionally, if your job description has a desired or preferred language proficiency qualification, you may choose to set up a separate conversation between a prospective candidate and a staff or community member who is proficient in the language you are looking for in a candidate so that they can have a conversation and the results of that conversation, to assess their proficiency, can be shared with committee members as a part of the candidate’s search portfolio. 

Nurture and develop an internal pipeline of diverse employees – One of an organization’s most valuable assets is its current employees.  Prioritizing a vibrant professional development and mentoring program which allows employees to develop new skills and competencies and gain valuable insights into future employment tracks or positions is a must.  This process should be available to everyone across the organization and intentional recruitment of employees who are diverse is needed in order to use these opportunities to prepare the next generation of leaders within your organization.  Nurturing the future potential of diverse employees can also be an important tool to help retain this important pool of employees while supporting a message of inclusion and equity.

• What other intentional processes or policies are you implementing to recruit and retain a diverse employee workforce?
• How have you supported staff in developing diverse networks that can help in recruiting future diverse employees?
• How have you used staff professional development and mentoring to support you desire to employ and retain a diverse workforce?

Part 3 of this blog post in March will explore developing and using behavioral based, open ended questions centered on cultural competence during the candidate interview process to support outcomes centered in equity and inclusion.

Tools for Attracting a Diverse and Culturally Competent Applicant Pool (Part 1)

By Dionardo Pizaña
This is part 1 of a 4 part series. Stay tuned for the next 3 parts to come.

One tool to invite job applicants from diverse backgrounds to consider applying for openings within your organization is to be intentional in the job announcement or posting about your organizational commitment to inclusion, equity or multicultural organizational change.  Using only the standard Affirmative Action statement or compliance language is simply not enough to indicate the importance of these issues at an organizational level or to capture a prospective employee’s attention that may be looking to work for an organization that supports inclusion.

Below are a few samples of language that can be integrated into a job announcement or posting to support your organizational commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity:

1. ________ University is seeking creative, adaptable individuals who enjoy working for an organization that promotes cultural diversity and multicultural education.

2. ________ University is committed to excellence and actively supports cultural diversity.  To support this commitment, we invite individuals who contribute to such diversity to apply including people of color, women, GLBT, persons with disabilities and other differences.

 
3. ________ University is committed to developing in well trained professionals the talents and skills necessary for visionary leadership, organizational change, community empowerment, inclusion and social equity.

4. The successful candidate for this position will have the ability to work effectively and collegially with a broad range of internal and external constituencies, the ability to think creatively and a commitment to or experience in supporting or implementing programs or initiatives that foster and sustain inclusion and equity within their research or programming area.

5.  Candidate must have a demonstrated ability to work with individuals across an organization or in a community who are of a diverse socioeconomic, cultural, sexual orientation, religious, disability and/or ethnic background. 

6. Dedicated to organizational excellence, ________ University supports and encourages the development and implementation of multicultural perspectives across programming areas, the celebration of diversity and the assets that inclusion and equity brings to our organization.

7.  The successful candidate must be able to support our organizational mission as it relates to inclusion, equity, multicultural organizational change and the organizational excellence that diversity fosters.

8.  _______ University is seeking bilingual/bicultural (i.e., English/Spanish or English/Arabic) individuals to meet the needs of our diverse constituency.  Programming focus and outreach will have a successful candidate working effectively to program and build networks and connections with these community members.

These phrases and additional information on a job posting will not, in and of themselves, guarantee a diverse pool of applicants. However, this language can serve to put “front and center” your organizational desire to support such values as inclusion, equity, multiculturalism and leverage diversity as an organizational asset, thereby attracting individuals of diverse backgrounds or individuals who have demonstrated multicultural skills and competencies – both of which can support your organizational commitment to multiculturalism.

What other strategies has your institution utilized when advertising positions to attract a diverse applicant pool?

What other information might be important to highlight in position advertisements when seeking to attract a diverse applicant pool?

If the decision is made to use one of the statements above in your advertisements, what additional steps could be taken in the recruitment and hiring/interview process to explore issues of inclusion and equity more intentionally?

 

Adapted in part from “Hiring for Cultural Competence: Practical Methods and Strategies to Get What You Need,” by Chris Cullinan, PhD., June 2004.