Interpersonal Communications
Interpersonal Communication Skills - A Is For...
We are launching a series about communication that focuses on family interaction, rather than on workplace dynamics...
Of course, many tips and guidelines that help you develop family relationships can be carried over to the workplace environment. Learning to get along with the most important people in your life can help you get along with others, most of whom don’t play a major role. We have so many communication ideas and so much relationship advice that once again we are starting an alphabetical series. However, we don’t promise to handle the letters in strict alphabetical order, nor even to do all of them.
A is for advice. The simplest thing is to say once your kids are pre-teens: Don’t offer any advice; they just don’t want to hear what you have to say. This (advice) is simple, but it is also wrong. Believe it or not, your kids do want to hear what you have to say. But prepare your material so what you tell them isn’t totally expected and completely trite. And gear your advice to them as individuals; address who they are and what they want from life. Tell them something that they can’t hear everywhere they turn. Of course when people get older they may resent advice. Why would I listen to anything that you have to say? So you must be careful in couching your suggestions. Make sure you aren’t sneaking in a “You don’t know squat, sit down, listen to me, and you’ll finally learn something.” By the way this advice also holds for the youth.
Just a word of advice about advice.
A is for admire. Show people that you admire them. For some people this means admiring their choice in clothing and accessories. For others it’s more important to show them you admire their personalities and their lifestyle choices. Everybody needs a pat on the back. But we don’t all need the same pat. Am I right, Pat and Patsy?
Carla Bruni, Nicholas Sarkozy, and the pyramids.
And now for some of the things you want to avoid.
A is for alone. Don’t be a loner within your family. Let your loved ones know that they can count on you, that nobody is alone. A family means that you are all in it together. When your child or teen tells you “I want to be alone,” answer them to the effect, “I’m going to get out of viewing range. But you aren’t alone, I am there for you.” Maybe, just maybe, they will also be there for you.