The Role of Diversity - #2
It’s everywhere these days. We see it in the workplace, in schools, in supermarkets, on socials and podcasts. Everywhere we turn we are hearing something about communication, or the lack there of. We’ve all heard (and maybe even said) comments like, ‘Back in my day we would actually talk to people, we would pick up the phone and have a conversation.’ Or, ‘When you used to go to order your coffee, the staff member would actually acknowledge you and say hello.’ Schools are commenting on how kids these days don’t know how to work together, or don’t know how to solve problems with each other. University lecturers say that the students don’t know how to give a presentation or have robust discussions. Workplaces comment that their younger staff don’t know how to address an email or engage in meetings. However I suppose this begs the question…whose fault is that?
“Communication is one of the most important components of our lives.” (Sumaiya et al., 2022) and yet we seem to be letting our younger generations figure it out for themselves, despite losing a few years of their social life to covid and having screens as their besties since before they really knew what a bestie was. “Even though communication seems to be straightforward” (Sumaiya et al., 2022) we are seeing over and over again that it isn’t. That is why Future Focused Australia is trying to get in on the ground level and help our young people develop the skills that they need to work together through effective communication.
But let’s look at ‘The Gen Z stare.’ You know that blank, expressionless look. As alluded to, you often see it when you line up to order your coffee or in other customer service situations. Sometimes I wonder if it is because I grew up in a more rural area and have that country mentality, and now I live in the ‘Big Smoke’ in Sydney and maybe I should lower my expectations and accept what I perceive as rudeness??? Or perhaps I need to acknowledge that maybe we have let young people down by not teaching them these skills. Or I need to remember to “take age, culture, religion, gender, and emotional state into account” (Vyas and Mehta, 2015), and allow some leniency.
We know these days that no matter where you are in the world, diversity is everywhere and when we talk about diversity in relation to communication it doesn’t just mean the above mentioned considerations, it can mean language skills, cognitive skills, physical limitations, neurodiversity, anxiety... No two people are the same. We all have our own communication style and our own comfort level when it comes to communicating with others. So perhaps that person serving me in a coffee shop has slow processing and with my ADHD I have jumped in and ordered without giving them a chance to say, ‘Hi, how are you going?’ But also maybe they are young and haven’t learnt the skills. The point is, we shouldn’t judge, we should look for ways to close the gap. Which is why Future Focus Australia was founded.
Recognising diversity within the realm of communication is a start, as the first steps to positive and effective communication is to, extend respect, acknowledge the purpose of the interaction and “understand the emotional basis” (Sumaiya et al., 2022).Or in other words, try to see where the other person is coming from to try and avoid the misunderstandings that can lead to conflict, frustration and the breakdown of communication (Vyas and Mehta, 2015).
On the bright side, our programs at Future Focused Australia, not only take all these things into consideration, but raise awareness of their importance. Through hands-on activities and discussions, participants have the opportunity to put themselves in other people’s shoes, reflect on their own communication style and how they can capitalise on their strengths and acknowledge others’ to get the best result for everyone. “Communication is successful only when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication.” (Vyas and Mehta, 2015). We focus on making that happen.
At Future Focused Australia, we not only want to support people in their communication journey as communicating better with anyone will “help you make stronger relationships, develop greater trust, respect, problem-solving, improve collaboration, and your complete social and emotional health (A. A. Adu-Oppong and E. Agyin-Birikorang 2014 as cited in Sumaiya et al, 2022). But we look at the big picture and want to contribute to a world that extends empathy and understanding in every aspect.
References
Sumaiya, B., Srivastava, S., Jain, V., & Prakash, V. (2022). The role of effective communication skills in professional life. World Journal of English Language, 12(3), Special Issue, 134. Sciedu Press. https://wjel.sciedupress.com
Vyas, F. Y., & Mehta, H. J. (2015). Developing effective communication skills. IRJAR – International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 2(1), Jan–March 2015. (Original PDF: ijrar_issue_156.pdf) (Accessed October 12, 2025)