Winkelman, K. M.*, & Warren, M. A. (January 2020). I know how to be an ally, or do I? Effective and ineffective communication practices of allies. Presentation at the 5th Western Positive Psychological Association Conference, Claremont, CA

This paper contrasts what allies believe are effective communication strategies in positive intergroup interactions and what in fact are and are not effective in practice. Using data from 25 interviews with strongly committed allies, we first explored what they believed to be good allyship communication strategies. Next, we used data from their stories of times they were successful allies, and times when they fell short or their allyship backfired. These stories were coded to assess what allyship communication strategies were in fact effective, and those that were not. Findings reveals that allies frequently believed active listening, compassion, and humility to be critical. However, what worked was a focus on actively building trust and collaborating with marginalized group members to arrive at solutions. Passive interventions (i.e., simply listening) or missing opportunities for active intervention led to outcomes that were less desirable. Implications for effective allyship behaviors will be discussed. 

*Katie Winkelman, a BA Communication Studies, Business Minor student at Western, presented this research at a conference in California.