Communication and Conflict Resolution: The Listener

           The class presentation over communication I believed to be very helpful. We received a lot of handouts with important information on it for discussing ways to talk to people, and then did two activities where we discussed our conflict management style, and then wrote out three subject conflicts. Two of the handouts where I found information to be particularly important are the handouts “9 Healthy ways to Communicate” and “35 dumb Things Well-Intended People Say”. Sometimes when a person is upset, I find it difficult to figure out what exactly to say to them to make them feel better. I can consider this my weakness in communication because sometimes while talking to someone if I don’t know what to say I will just sit there and listen instead of responding to the situation. The handout on “9 Healthy ways to communicate” helped to sort of walked us through the steps of what to say to someone when trying to communicate. Also, I must admit that I found some of the 35 dumb things well-intended people say funny; however, I understand that the things said on the list are also important because some of the things on there I had heard being said to me when I was having a hard time. I would consider my personal strength in communication my ability to listen. Listening has to be my strength and my weakness. It’s my strength because it show’s people that I truly care about them and makes them feel more likely to open up to me. However, it is also a weakness because in tense situations I sometimes tend to let other people speak up over me.

            To better communicate with my summit team I believe we should start having out own summit group meetings without our advisor there just so we can discuss the plans that need to be made. I believe this will re-open communication in the household. To improve on how I handle conflict as a leader, I will have to start practicing voicing my opinions more in tense situations while still retaining my ability to listen to what others have to say. Basically I plan on finding a healthy balance between the two. 

         -Suzy B.