Before you try to repair the communication challenge identified in Week 1 Part 1E, you first need to identify a pattern and understand where the breakdown takes place. Consider your encounters over the last few weeks. When did this challenge occur? If you have selected as your challenge “keeping a calm voice when instructing my children,” then identify when you did not keep a calm voice. Next, identify your challenge as a behavioral pattern. Here is this challenge stated above as a behavioral goal, “I want to keep a calm voice when instructing my children.” Now it is your turn, write your behavioral challenge as a behavioral goal that begins with the phrase, “I want to….”
Next, put yourself in someone else’s shoes. . . someone who has the same communication challenge you identified in 1E in Week 1. Answer the following questions as if you were watching the challenge take place.
- What did that person do to escalate the communication challenge?
- What could that person have done to de-escalate the communication challenge?
- What must that person be saying and/or doing for me to say that he/she has achieved the communication goal that he or she shares with you?
Part 1: Identifying Patterns (2 pages)
Sometimes, stepping outside yourself and viewing the communication challenge objectively can help you to see trigger points and strategies more clearly. Now that you have had an opportunity to do that, brainstorm a minimum of three strategic steps that could be taken based on what you have learned thus far from the textbook. You will need to search through the textbook for specifics, and those specifics will need to be cited within this section using APA in-text citations.
