“You were given two ears and one mouth.”
Did you hear that proverb or similar growing up?
While the origins of this ancient proverb are lost (Epictetus, the Bible, tribal elders can all make a case), the wisdom endures. Multicultural communication is like all successful communication, it’s all about listening.
Ebony Marketing Systems’ 4 Ws Multicultural Listening Plan
1. Who are you listening to? Gen. pop representation will not ensure multicultural representation as research participation greatly varies by cultures.
2. When are you listening — not just at the beginning, or worse, when a plan fails. A multicultural panel can provide longitudinal data necessary to see which themes are enduring and which are trending.
3. Where are you listening? Cultural-community based research provides context and builds trust — you may need to know what is “quiet as its kept” traumas and secrets of a culture.
4. What are you truly hearing? It’s not enough to have the right people talking, you also need the right listeners who link what you heard across cultural barriers and biases. You can open up your multicultural listening by opening up your team to include a diverse staff and diverse partners. Building a two-eared approach internally.
Ebony Marketing Systems uses listening in every step of our process. We’re all ears, ready to listen to your multicultural communication needs. For more information, call us at (718) 742-0006 or send us a message today.
