Mis-communication between family members is a potential source of much confusion, misery, grief and guilt. The Mind Gym has a few pertinent suggestions to help you keep your cool and defuse those potentially explosive situations...
1. Avoid sarcasm. Opening with a caustic comment may satisfy an urge but it will set the discussion off in a direction from which it will be hard to recover. If sarcasm is used on you, recognise it for what it is and rise above it. 2. Keep cool. Angry people don't always mean what they say. Let the unpleasant comment pass or ask a question that gives them a chance to put it into less emotive words. 3. Leave the mind reading to the psychics. Ask a direct question to find out what the other person is really thinking: 'When you say "we" do you actually mean "me"?' 4. Spot the style. Some people like using images and metaphors. Others prefer logic and the undisputed facts. When we find ourselves in vehement agreement it's often because we are saying the same things in a different way. Spot the other person's preferred style and adapt to it. 5. Keep the consequences in perspective. This probably isn't the end of the world and you're going to need to live together afterwards. Exaggeration by one person tends to lead to overreaction by everyone else. Break the routine and enjoy being the peace maker. [This article was first printed in the Sunday Times.]
Posted 19/03/2009 14:22:49 by Darren Turpin with 0 comments.
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