How to avoid causing microagressions?
As suggested by the name, microaggressions seem small; but compounded over time, they can have an enormous impact on a person’s experience, health, and overall well-being. Research suggests that subtle forms of interpersonal discrimination like microaggressions are at least as harmful as more-overt expressions of discrimination. Below are some helpful tips from researchers to consider:
⏯ PAUSE
Don’t be in a rush to speak or act. Pause before asking someone a personal question. Pause before you describe a person’s personality in a certain way. Pause before you make a comparison between someone and something else you’ve seen. These simple thoughts and moments are where bias lives so taking a second to think about it make all the difference.
🤨 QUESTION
Ask yourself these important questions. Is your brain getting stuck on differences that you’re noticing? Are they triggering things that you subconsciously believe? Are you making assumptions because of these beliefs? What will the person I’m interacting with feel or think when I say or do this? Awareness of our own bias comes when we answer these questions for ourselves.
🖼 REFRAME
See the bigger picture. Sit in the uncomfortableness of your questions. List the things you can do to change your thoughts and behaviors. This could include researching other cultures and the history of certain phrases to acknowledging the systems that give you the privilege of removing offensive phrases from your vocabulary one by one. Stop your defensive thoughts. Acknowledge that you can cause microaggressions, but it doesn’t make you a bad person. Unlearning bias won’t happen overnight.
Source: Harvard Business Review, Micropedia