Cultural Competency

The Wakeman Agency’s expertise in effectively communicating with multicultural audiences is informed by two decades of experience working at the intersection of social justice and communications. We have found that as language has evolved, organizations have not kept pace and there is an urgent need for increased cultural fluency across all sectors. We have become a go-to resource for organizations seeking to increase their cultural competency.

We have created two offerings to help organizations develop language and communication practices aligned with their mission and vision. This suite of proprietary tools provides parameters in messaging, industry-specific language and operational architecture for success in communicating with multicultural and diverse audiences that are specific to an organization’s space.

These tools include The Lexicon Project™, which itself has two options for scope size, and the Culturally Competent Communications (C³) [SEE·three] Diagnostic.

Organizations may benefit from these offerings in a variety of scenarios when experiencing the limits of their communications and messaging strategies. For example:

• As organizations are struggling to craft more compelling internal or external communications that keep pace with shifts in language.
• When organizations are seeking a comprehensive glossary or vocabulary to create communications standards for their mission and the sector.  
• When there is a commitment to evolving language to operationalize organizational goals. 
• In moments of crisis, when an organization finds that its messaging is inadequate to address a rapidly unfolding series of events that implicate its work.
• In data collection that reveals a lack of authentic brand engagement with certain audience members.

Below you will find further information on these offerings.

The Lexicon Project™ invites organizations into the deep exploration of narrative and language that translate to effective and culturally competent communications for a wide range of audiences. We know the role language plays in advancing systemic bias or creating actions toward equity. Therefore communications strategies should target the development of shared language and tools to support solidarity and belonging, to build more inclusive and just ecosystems within organizations and industries.

Communication misalignment can thwart the best-intended efforts to systematize an organization’s ethical approach to strategic messaging. Finding consensus on the language that reflects an organization’s vision and mission, and being able to express that language in a culturally competent manner, is a powerful step when seeking to operationalize systems change. 

The Lexicon Project does this through two options available to our clients:

The Lexicon Project

Through a multimethod discovery process, our team applies a structured analysis of language, narrative and messaging that seeks to identify areas of fluency in communications and highlight opportunities for increased engagement with diverse and multicultural audiences. The result is a comprehensive set of findings, a glossary of terms recommended for use or for retirement, as well as a set of protocols for the roll out of these new tools. These deliverables are paired with strategic support tailored to the client’s needs that deepen leadership and staff skill sets for internal and external communications.

Mini Lexicon Project

We know that some organizations may not have the time or resources to embark on a full-scale lexicon engagement. For those who need a more focused approach, our Mini Lexicon offers a streamlined solution that delivers critical analysis to support shifts in language.

Through an agile discovery process, our team conducts a series of focus groups, a language audit and competitor analysis. Clients walk away with an understanding of where their organization fits within their ecosystem, a glossary and a set of recommendations to strengthen organizational communications practices.

Culturally Competent Communications (C³) [SEE·three] are those that effectively and authentically foster engagement with an organization’s brand among audiences of diverse identities and experiences. The Wakeman Agency’s C³ Diagnostic is a one-of-a-kind assessment that gauges the current state of an organization’s capacity to communicate in this way. C³ is assessed through a comprehensive audit to identify current strengths, weaknesses, roadblocks and recommended next steps in organizational change. Through a range of measures, the nature and quality of communications practices and infrastructure are examined to determine organizational fitness in support of dynamic and inclusive messaging.

The resulting diagnostic report provides specific recommendations that equip the organization to invest more fully in current strengths and plan out strategies for growth in areas of need. Organized around seven key components of communications cultural competency, the results include visualizations and qualitative and quantitative findings.