How to Communicate with Family Members successfully!
Communicating with family members is never an easy task to undertake.
Especially when family members have expectations placed upon how they and
others, especially you must act in a family setting.
Every family unit is different and may have expectations on what behaviour, customs and characteristic roll plays will occur within it. Given this, there are some traits of universal human communication which supersede these behaviours, customs and characteristics. Some of these traits will be explored below in point form, giving you some helpful tips and pointers on how to better interact with members of your family. Some of these traits and techniques are:
* Paraphrasing - When you listen to a family member speak, repeat back what they have said to you in your own words.
- Repeat back some of the key words that this family member has said to you, as a form of catch phrase. This also has the added effect of showing the family member that you respect them.
* Matching and Mirroring - Match and Mirror the other member of the families body language. This means that you be a mime and follow what another person does.
- Try to do this at least 20 seconds after the other family member around you changes their body posture and tone of voice.
* Maintain Eye Good Eye Contact - By maintaining good eye with the other family member with whom you are communicating with you are showing your respect to this other family member.
* Turn Your Head on a Slight 45 Degree Angle.
- When you tilt your head at 45 degrees, it shows the other family member with whom you are communicating that they have something interesting to say.
* Use Humor to Build Rapport and Lighten Conversation when Appropriate.
- I.e. If your talking with a family member, about a family matter which is not serious then by all means use humor.
- If the matter is serious, then never ever use humor!
- Humor should only be used in the family as a means to increase your communication ability and rapport with another family member, it should never be used at anyone else's expense... Including your own.
- Do not tell childish jokes to an adult family member; likewise do not tell adult jokes to kids. Sounds straight forward, yet many people do it.
* Use Honesty - Be honest enough to tell the truth, but not honest enough to put yourself in danger with another family member.
- THINK ABOUT THE CONTEXT of your honesty and where you are using it when communicating with another family member.
Every family unit is different and may have expectations on what behaviour, customs and characteristic roll plays will occur within it. Given this, there are some traits of universal human communication which supersede these behaviours, customs and characteristics. Some of these traits will be explored below in point form, giving you some helpful tips and pointers on how to better interact with members of your family. Some of these traits and techniques are:
* Paraphrasing - When you listen to a family member speak, repeat back what they have said to you in your own words.
- Repeat back some of the key words that this family member has said to you, as a form of catch phrase. This also has the added effect of showing the family member that you respect them.
* Matching and Mirroring - Match and Mirror the other member of the families body language. This means that you be a mime and follow what another person does.
- Try to do this at least 20 seconds after the other family member around you changes their body posture and tone of voice.
* Maintain Eye Good Eye Contact - By maintaining good eye with the other family member with whom you are communicating with you are showing your respect to this other family member.
* Turn Your Head on a Slight 45 Degree Angle.
- When you tilt your head at 45 degrees, it shows the other family member with whom you are communicating that they have something interesting to say.
* Use Humor to Build Rapport and Lighten Conversation when Appropriate.
- I.e. If your talking with a family member, about a family matter which is not serious then by all means use humor.
- If the matter is serious, then never ever use humor!
- Humor should only be used in the family as a means to increase your communication ability and rapport with another family member, it should never be used at anyone else's expense... Including your own.
- Do not tell childish jokes to an adult family member; likewise do not tell adult jokes to kids. Sounds straight forward, yet many people do it.
* Use Honesty - Be honest enough to tell the truth, but not honest enough to put yourself in danger with another family member.
- THINK ABOUT THE CONTEXT of your honesty and where you are using it when communicating with another family member.
Conversations are Always Important!!!
* Having Important Conversations.
- If you need to tell another family member something which may emotionally disturb them, then you need to find the right set and setting in order to tell them. For instance does your child or adult family member chuck dangerous tantrums when something upsets them.
- Likewise, if you are a child of an aggressive parent who is known to be indirectly-violent when something upsets them, pick the location where you will tell them something important which may involve you and them in safety.
Learning how to communicate with your family is an art-form and is the type of art-form where you are the social artist and the other family member is the artwork. Because communication is such an important tool to learn in all of your relationships, I have decided to write the next blog tomorrow on how to work successfully in the workplace with harmonious workplace relationships being the focus.
Count. Daniel John Fogarty, Wednesday 23rd of October 2013
- If you need to tell another family member something which may emotionally disturb them, then you need to find the right set and setting in order to tell them. For instance does your child or adult family member chuck dangerous tantrums when something upsets them.
- Likewise, if you are a child of an aggressive parent who is known to be indirectly-violent when something upsets them, pick the location where you will tell them something important which may involve you and them in safety.
Learning how to communicate with your family is an art-form and is the type of art-form where you are the social artist and the other family member is the artwork. Because communication is such an important tool to learn in all of your relationships, I have decided to write the next blog tomorrow on how to work successfully in the workplace with harmonious workplace relationships being the focus.
Count. Daniel John Fogarty, Wednesday 23rd of October 2013
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