VJ Periyakoil

Many of us are pretty preoccupied with our wants, needs, and fears. As we live our fast-paced lives, we may unintentionally commit microaggressions that hurt those around us. As the old saying goes,

Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle

We invite you to put a stop to microaggressions and replace them with microvalidations. Microvalidations are small verbal and non-verbal responses that indicate understanding, empathy and support of the other person’s plight.

Take the Stanford Microvalidation Challenge Today:

Ask a question to someone about work (their work, commute, office space, clinical load, research projects, upcoming deadlines etc.)
When they answer, respond with a micro-validation
Watch for their non-verbal and verbal response
Do it again. See how many you can fit into one day

Remember: A micro validation should be subtle, fleeting, genuine. Avoid personal comments about physical attributes.

Using the comments section below, please share with us how you took the Stanford microvalidation challenge and what the response was.

In any encounter, small packets of information are exchanged continuously like a tennis volley. There a minute by minute variation of the information communicated, the underlying affect and the communication effectiveness. As we communicate, we transmit information admixed with microaggressions and microvalidations. The quality of communication is eroded with every microaggression and augmented by each microvalidation.

Communication comprises of both verbal and nonverbal information. Over 90% of the communication is nonverbal. Nonverbal communication is heavily contextual and is influenced by the culture of the communicator. Nonverbal behaviors include eye movements, body posture and movement, tone and cadence of of voice, use of touch, use of silence, use of space and use of artifacts. Skillful use of nonverbal communication can foster effective intercultural interactions.

Effective communication involves awareness and modulation of our microcommunication pattern on an ongoing basis.