Page 342 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Diversity is a fact of life in our multicultural world made up of people of diverse cultures, values, beliefs, and
customs that differ from our own. Diversity has an impact on many facets of verbal and nonverbal
communication as well as on small group communication where it influences discussion and other issues.
Since people do not have a common set of life experiences, communication in terms of shared meaning cannot
be assumed and must be explored.

Today’s management professional must possess competency in interpersonal skills, communication skills,
and cultural diversity.15 Putting diverse people together in a small group to work toward a common goal may
lead to difficulties since perspectives and traditions are culturally defined. Research has shown that diverse
groups that eat communal meals together may enhance group communication.16 Homogeneous groups in
which people have similar backgrounds may reach a more limited or defined consensus faster. Diverse groups,
however, often bring a wider range of opinions that may strengthen the quality of solutions and decisions—
and eventually the commitment to team goals.1,13,15 We should not dismiss those who are quiet and slow to
contribute because we need to hear and understand diverse perspectives from everyone to reach consensus
resulting in creative solutions.

As a multicultural country, among both the workforce supervised and client groups served by healthcare
professionals, no single approach will suffice. When managing groups, therefore, the professional’s approach
needs to be appropriate for the persons he or she is attempting to influence. When persons come from
backgrounds in which they have not been encouraged to think or speak up, predictably in a work situation or a
client group, they will lack the self-confidence to offer suggestions. If treated with patience, however, and
given positive reinforcement each time they risk contributing an idea, they may gradually gain the confidence
to become valuable group members.15 Members of today’s workforce, however, have grown up with a
preference for egalitarian treatment—overt acknowledgment of each person’s value, dignity, and worthiness of
respect—and perform best in groups with a leader who acts as a facilitator, involving employees rather than
prescribing to them.11

Group Facilitation Skills

To be successful as leaders, nutrition practitioners and managers must understand and utilize group
facilitation skills. Facilitators are those who understand the value of group decision making and see their
function as helping the group to get started, to establish a climate of work, to give support to others, to guide
the group, and to keep the group on track so that its objectives are achieved. The group’s activities and the
facilitator’s attitude toward the group are based on respect for what can be accomplished through group
discussion and on the fostering of a group climate in which people feel comfortable and secure enough to
contribute their ideas.11,17

Facilitator Preparation

Facilitators’ responsibilities begin with the preparation of an appropriate meeting environment. They must
make sure that the room is comfortable, with adequate ventilation, lighting, and with a consciously arranged
seating pattern. Sitting in a circle, for example, allows group members to see one another’s faces, which tends
to increase interaction. When people are arranged at long rectangular tables, they tend to interact most with
those in direct view and little with those on either side of them.

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