My favorite part about chapter 3 was the part on assertive
communication. Assertive communication
is defined as "the ability to speak up from one's interests, concerns, or
rights in a way that does not interfere with the interests or infringes on the
rights of others" (p. 53). As a
communicator, using assertive communication is extremely important. It is a way to let everyone's voice be heard
during a conflict without stepping on anyone's toes and offending them. As a person that usually has a
relationship-centered orientation, I feel like I use assertive communication to
handle many of the conflicts that I become involved in. By putting everything out there for anyone
that is involved in the conflict, everyone gets to say their piece. At times, there will be new information that
might surprise an individual and make them see that their point is indeed
wrong. Assertive communication takes
practice and a lot of patience. It is
very hard to let another individual speak when you completely disagree with
what they are saying. I feel like
assertive communication is an important part of the relationship-centered
orientation, but has an even bigger effect on communication in general.
I also enjoyed reading about assertive communication. I am a very relationship-centered person when it comes to conflicts. Being a commnucation major and a college student for the past 4 years has taught me alot about people. It has opened my eyes to the way people communicate and put alot of things into perspective. After reading this chapter I can almost put all of my close friends into which orientation they would fit into. Being as assertive as I am, I may even decide to talk to some of my “other-centered” friends in order to help them become better at resolving conflicts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that sometimes it is very difficult to let someone else speak when you completely disagree with what they are saying. But being a relationship-centered person we must get each side of the conflit in order to make a sound resolution. Good work on tying the chapter into your life.