Conflict Resolution and Nonviolent Communication

Being a busy mom of two active children, I feel as though I am often the mediator of various arguments throughout the day. One thing that I have noticed about myself is that my patience and ability to help mediate conflicts is much greater at the beginning part of the day than at the end of the day. I feel as though I am constantly stating things like, "how would you like it if someone did that to you?" Sometimes this strategy works and other times it does not. I also frequently try to find a compromise so that all the parties involved feel as though they have had their voice heard. One way that I can improve my practice as a parent based on the information we have learned this week is to work on my ability to respond to conflicts without becoming emotional and judgmental. I am going to try to improve my ability to view conflicts from all angles with the greater good in mind by pushing aside my emotional involvement.

Communication Insights

Completing surveys related to communication anxiety, verbal aggression and listening skills helped me to assess the skills that I have and skills that I can improve on. Having my husband and a colleague take the same surveys to assess my communication skills provided further insight into how I communicate on a personal and professional level. I was pleasantly surprised that all three scores were within just a few points of each other and reflected similar categories in each area (mild communication anxiety, moderate verbal aggressiveness, and people oriented listening skills).

Two insights that I learned while completing this activity include that although we think we may be effective communicators we will never know for sure until we interview or ask for feedback from our communicative partners. In addition, our communication skills are constantly shifting to different styles depending upon whom we are speaking with and what we are speaking about. Not to mention the external and internal influences which affect our communicative state, such as our physical well-being, emotional wellness, mood, and stress level. Our ability to communicate both professionally and personally is something that we should take the time to analyze from time to time in all aspects of our lives so that we can be sure we are demonstrating the skills necessary in order to foster healthy, respectful and collaborative relationships.