I have been involved with disability awareness training for a number of years through my work with Disability Information Service Inc – Otago (2008 to 2015), with PACT and their Re-Run Theatre (http://www.rerun.co.nz/) and as an individual talking about living with a disability to schools, Otago Polytechnic and the University of Otago and Service clubs, such as Rotary and Lions.
Through my talks and presentations I have come to realise that it is not just persons with a disability or impairment that are treated differently but everyone at sometimes experiences some form of bias.
The buzz term a few years back was “paradigm” and “paradigm shift” to help people identify how they see others and situations. This now appears to have been overtaken by the term “Unconscious Bias”.
What is unconscious bias? It can be described as the decisions that we make every day on an unconscious basis when it comes to what we think about others.
Even in 2016 I am still seeing (and experiencing), people’s unconscious bias towards someone, who in their eyes is different, whether the person has an impairment or is of a different gender or ethnicity.
When presenting I ensure my content is relevant to the group I am talking to and ensure that the presentation is not only relevant to their industry/service provided but how they react to others in their everyday life.
Unconscious bias training is about teaching self-awareness and an understanding of how experience shapes thought and personality.
Once through the training, trust should be increased as participants come to realise that others react to them on a level that is natural to their experience(s).
If you would you like further information or to book me for your training, whether you are a large corporate business, a small business, a service organisation, school, tertiary institute or a youth group please feel free to contact me:
EMAIL: johnmarrable@gmail.com
Phone: 0064 3 456 1021 / 0064 21231 3887