How to Understand Diverse Cultures

Modern societies are composed of people from various ethnic, racial, geographical, religious and language groups. It is important that we all learn to appreciate one another's differences in order to get along peacefully.

Things You'll Need

• Access to reliable information: library, Internet, bookstore

Instructions

1. Educate yourself. This is probably the most important step. It is not someone else's job to do this for you. For example, if you have a new colleague from another culture, if you're going to travel to a new country, or if your neighborhood has people from many cultures in it then reading about the culture will allow you insight into it.

2. Choose a reliable source of information for your reading. In this case, books may be better sources than websites, unless you can tell the website is unbiased. Because anyone can create a webpage, you may stumble across a webpage that provides inaccurate information about another culture or worse, is intolerant or hateful to the culture and is purposely trying to mislead you.

3. 

   Keep a deliberately open mind. Respect the tenets of the other culture you've read about rather than judging them. This is how learning takes place.

4. 

   Communicate respectfully with people from other cultures. It is okay to ask questions, but no one wants to feel like they're a study-subject. Don't expect someone from another culture to speak for everyone else in the culture by asking sweeping statements about people from their cultural, racial, geographical, religious or sexual-orientation group. For example, don't ask "So do all ____ people like this food"' or "How do ____ people feel about the president?" etc Also, never use the phrase "you people" because this always sounds derogatory.

5. 

   Expose yourself to all kinds of people. While traveling is a wonderful way to do this, it's not the only way. In every urban area multiple languages are spoken, there are unique areas of town that have grocery stores that sell food they may not sell in your own community or where you might take in a dance performance or poetry reading. Also keep in mind that "diverse cultures" does not just mean people of a different racial background, but also people of another sexual orientation, economic class, family structure, ability-level etc. Say hello to people and get to know them. Spending time outside of your comfort zone with a spirit of respect and adventure is an excellent way to do this.