Perception Checking (in) Action: Performing and Reflecting On Gendered Communication With Stories In Business & Professional Communication

Abstract: In this activity, students critically examine and reflect on mundane interactional moments and the identities, relationships, and structures (re)produced with/through communication within the workplace, focusing on gender stereotypes and perception checking. Thinking from and accounting for one’s positionality, learners engage with interpersonal communication theories related to perception checking and gendered communication within the context of the workplace as “map-making” instead of as “map-reading” (Nastasia & Rakow, 2010). We find that this activity encourages students to reflectively examine their own identities, scripts, stereotypes, and constructs in relation to cultural norms and ideologies of gender. Furthermore, the activity engages us all in an active process of perception checking that can be utilized in various areas of life, such as the workplace.

Keywords: interpersonal communication within the workplace, gendered communication and positionality, perception checking

Topic: DEI   |   Format: Activity or Exercise