The US is a multicultural country, and the more we understand the differences (and similarities) between our neighbors, the better outcomes we’ll have. Most people know this, yet are still tentative about how to speak about about US cultural differences without stereotyping or offending. Rather than avoiding differences, or looking at them exclusively in terms of Power, our approach draws from intercultural communication research with the goal of developing cognitive empathy, communication confidence, and more connected teams.

Through the development of empathy and adaptation skills, our clients are empowered to communicate across difference in affirming and effective ways. We don’t focus on Critical and Systemic analyses interested in Power- who has it, who doesn’t, and why. There are many professionals already taking this approach. Rather, by working at the group communication level, we create the conditions for less ethnocentrism and humanization of the other. This creates climates of respect for diversity within organizations.

We have a theory and we aren’t afraid to use it. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) is a grounded and validated developmental theory that proposes 6 ways people experience cultural difference. Our workshops and consulting are designed for a person or group’s specific stage in the DMIS.

The motto of our training school, the IDR Institute, is “coherent theory generates powerful practice”. This means that our workshops and consulting are intentional, sequential, and effective. From the level of epistemology (assumptions about reality) all the way to a specific lesson in a workshop, our work fits together like a puzzle, producing a resonance that increases the effectiveness.