Program
Equity in Communication Practices
A Professional Development Workshop for People Working in Communication, Community Outreach, Human Resources, and Organizational Development
Equity in Communication Practices is a workshop style professional development program for people working in communications, community engagement, human resources, and organizational development.
The workshop will explore how internal communication is the foundation for all ways that people within an organization engage with each other, people served, stakeholders, community members, service providers, gatekeepers, and anyone else impacted by decisions making.
In a shared learning environment, we will identify inclusive communication practices that recognize the wholeness of a human being, and all intersecting identities.
The workshop supports participants in the long game of organizational culture shifts, including employee relationships, personnel practices and policies, messaging and story telling, community engagement, and relationships with people and power structures.
Program Details
Equity in Communication Practices is a workshop that can be offered online or in person at Grandmother Cherry Sanctuary in Plainfield, Vermont. It can be a full day or half day experience. The workshop can be offered for a specific organization or can be offered in collaboration with a sponsoring organization to a broader audience. It can be tailored for intimate or larger groups. A teaser version can be broken down into a couple of hours with the understanding it will not cover all of the content and a deeper commitment to this program will be encouraged.
Workshop Components:
- Discuss processes, tools, and structures for transparent and effective internal communication and inclusive collaboration.
- Learn about emergent relationships with time, space, and process.
- Identify practices to facilitate relationship capacity building, generative group process, and equitable organizational communication practices.
- Practice interpersonal communication techniques that can support groups in navigating conflict, process, and decision making.
- Share learning to unpack organizational siloes through a communication lens and re-evaluate roles and responsibilities related to human resources, customer service, organizational development and fundraising, storytelling, marketing, and leadership.
- Discuss ways to build coalition to advocate for new approaches within organizational power structures.
Intentions:
The intention is for this workshop to build upon basic principles of equity and that a commitment to equity is already established in workshop participants. This will help everyone most effectively address workshop components with richness and depth.
Background:
The workshop draws on EmpowR Transformation’s founder, Rae Carter‘s career background in communication and new learning she has been navigating ion more recent years connecting the relationship between interpersonal and organizational communication and equity and belonging. A 2022 EmpowR retreat called Equity and Belonging in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication Rae co-designed with Ornella Matta-Figueroa, a trauma informed wellness practitioner, facilitator, and co-director of SafeArt, also informs elements of this workshop.
LET’S CONNECT to discuss holding a workshop for your organization.
