DR. BAKER-BROWN, INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: PART ONE

PART A:

GOAL: To provide the student with more information about the patterns of his or her defensive behaviors.

Objectives

To help students practice separating behaviors from the interpretations they give to them.

To help students practice being provisional about their interpretations of others' behaviors.

Style of Presentation

• Group Activity for Face-Face Class

• Individual Activity for Online Class

• Individual Activity for Hybrid Class: Due at 3rdFace-Face Meeting

How to submit this assignment?

This assignment must be submitted in a Summary format. The standard for these papers is college-level writing. If you respond to questions in a numerical order, such as 1. 2, your paper will be returned to you, ungraded.

Activity One

Think of a conflict that you have engaged in (or are currently in). Think about how you have behaved in (or are behaving) as you try to managed this conflict.

Discussion Questions

1. How difficult is it to separate your observation of your behavior from your interpretation of it?

2. Is it easier now than it was earlier in the class?

3. Why is it important to be tentative and provisional about your interpretations?

PART B:

Objectives

To encourage students to recognize the feelings they may experience in the listed circumstances.

To evaluate the effect on the message based on expressing the feeling or not expressing the feeling.

Discussion Questions

1. How difficult was it to come up with words to label the feelings you might experience in these situations?

2. What would be the impact of each message,if feelings weren't expressed?

3. What barriers prevent clear expressions of feelings?

4. What suggestions do you have about how to overcome these barriers?

5. Are there any situations in which feelings shouldn't be expressed? Explain.

6. What can we do to find out what others are feeling?