In the United States we typically say if you want to remain friends with somebody, don't talk about politics or religion, yet diversity trainer Lobna Ismail believes that's almost the only thing people have been talking about since the presidential election.

Because of the political polarization and the significant attention paid to racism, bigotry, homophobia and xenophobia in the campaign, Ismail said he believes there has been a call for more understanding.

"There is a great need to learn how to navigate and facilitate discussions that are inclusive without labeling the other," said Ismail, founder and president of Connecting Cultures, a diversity consulting business in the Washington, D.C., area.

As a Muslim-American, Ismail herself has much apprehension and uncertainty regarding the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, not only for her Muslim community, but also for others.

"There is a strong sense of our nation and how we're united is not based on our identity of race, color or religion and yet those were the ways in which his campaign was flaming and fueling some of the most egregious stereotypes about these communities," she said.

Yet amidst all the protests and fear around what impact these minority communities will suffer under a Trump administration, many are calling for a wait and see approach, and there has been an outpouring of support for marginalized communities who may have a great deal of fear.

There has also been increased demand diversity training, because diversity is an important American ideal, Ismail said.

"It's an ideal that is based on our constitutional rights and responsibilities and that we remain a united 'We The People,' and that is what I am working on and working for," she said.

Although some critics of identity politics could be contributing to the polarization, Ismail disagrees.

Diversity should be about everyone, and that also means white males, she said. And that group of people has been seeing a shifting demographic that may have them feeling threatened as well, but diversity training provides a familiarization of the "other."

She said if you only understood Muslims from the media's perspective, you might fear an entire population of people, she said. And similarly, if you believed all white males are racists, you may need to reconsider that group of people as well.