It is human nature to form perceptions quickly based on immediate value judgments. Often times the fact that we do this means we may evaluate incorrectly and react based on the judgment, rather than on reality. A useful perception checking technique is described below. If you become a master of it, you will also be a master of positive and genuine interactions anywhere in the world.

Observe, Describe, Interpret, Evaluate

When confronted with something new, if we can observe it without evaluating, chances are we can describe it. Then we have the ability rather than judging to consider all the possibilities that may explain what we are seeing or experiencing. That is the interpretation phase. We can then evaluate more clearly and correctly.

The tendency to evaluate behavior from another person or culture as good or bad is to make a judgment based on our own cultural or personal bias. Evaluation has been called the third stage of how we attribute meaning. The first two, description and interpretation lead naturally to it.

Different attitudes about food or drink for instance can cause misunderstanding as we evaluate them. If your cultural or personal programming encompasses the belief that people should eat neatly and quietly, you may find eating habits that are noisy and communal difficult. You might evaluate someone eating noisily as "rude" or "uncivilized". This would clearly be judging, rather than describing. It would be skipping the interpretation phase in which thinking of possible reasons the behavior is occurring (possible cultural difference?) might clue in to why it is happening, and keep you from jumping to assessing from solely your own programming.

The goal in responding to difference is to observe, describe and interpret. Yet it is our inclination to go right into evaluating.

Ways to decrease the tendency to evaluate are:

• Gain insight into your own values and what makes you tick.

• Do not judge someone from another culture by your own cultural values until you have first come to know them and their cultural values.