51. Building a More Caring Work Experience. An Interview with Nancy Kahn - Part 1

“I want to have my identity embraced. I also want to be authentic with people,” explains Nancy Kahn, Consultant, Coach, Trainer, Mediator, and host Alejandra’s first Communication Teacher. Nancy helps individuals and teams learn and integrate communication practices and develops leadership and organizational systems aligned with anti-racist frameworks. A highly-skilled communication professional, Nancy shares her experiences in the field and the tools she uses to educate others.

As a Black and Jewish woman, Nancy is well aware of how systems of power use language to maintain themselves, often by inciting fear. Through her work, she can use her own intersectional identity to relate to her clients with authenticity and empathy, understanding that everybody wants their experiences validated. Ultimately, she teaches people to communicate with co-workers who are different from themselves because it is better to check in with each other than make assumptions.

Tune into this week’s episode of Language Alchemy Podcast for a stimulating conversation on building a caring work experience. Learn more about Nancy’s impressive communication leadership background, how she uses her intersectional identity to discuss complex topics, and the importance of working through unconscious bias.

Quotes

• “People might not know what my background is. And I find it very important to tell people what I am so that if I'm communicating about things that relate to my ancestry, I want people to know why I'm sharing these things and why I can bring them forward.” (7:35-7:55 | Nancy)

• “I want to have my identity embraced. I also want to be authentic with people.” (8:48-8:53 | Nancy)

• “I just want us to be able to create and maintain inclusive spaces where people can bring all of their identities and not feel concerned, scared, uncomfortable, or judged.” (9:41-9:55 | Nancy)

• “Any system that uses power over, whether it's a legal system, the government, even religious institutions, or law enforcement, there's a language that was developed to maintain those systems. And it's often keeping people reacting and responding from fear.” (17:15-17:37) Alejandra)

• “I've had to look at myself making assumptions about people, and I've learned that it's better to ask somebody than make assumptions.” (21:08-21:19| Alejandra)

Links

To listen to Nancy's Radio program, click here:

www.talkitoutradio.wordpress.com

To find out more about Nancy Kahn's work, click here:

www.compassnarratives.com

To sign up for the podcast anniversary Zoom party, click here:

languagealchemy.com/podcastanniversary

To ask your communication questions, click here:

languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion

To join the mailing list, visit: languagealchemy.com

Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow:

open.spotify.com/artist/1HlMhcNfKIELxYil5mVqDI

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm