Harvard Techniques You Learned About in Module for Effective Communication Questions

Discuss two of the techniques you learned about in the module for effective communication that you would like to work on in your own communication.  Explain what you think you could do to incorporate these techniques into your communication (with a partner, child, parent, sibling, friend, or other loved one).

Discuss an example in where you were in a relationship (friend, co-worker, partner, etc.) in where your communication was negatively impacted by power.  Review the power and communication section in the module before completing your response.

You learned about the Principle of Least Interest in this module.  Do you agree with this theory?  Why or why not?  Include an example to illustrate your response.

Apply one of Raven’s Types of Power to a relationship to your own life.  Illustrate with an example.  (can be a previous or current partner, a friend, a family member, etc.).  

POST 1

1- Sabrina Rilloraza :     According to the chapter on Communications and Connections, “When two people communicate they share a certain degree of power during the conversation” (Hammond et al., 2021). The authors demonstrate that a power balance could exist, and there could also be potential for an imbalance in power, within a relationship. I believe that the Principle of Least Interest theory is significant because it identifies how an individual can have the most power in the relationship, based on how least interested they are towards the one they chose to be with. Knox and Schacht further elaborate on how power can take two primary forms: love and sex. I would like to compare my understanding of this theory with my former best friend’s relationship. Many years ago I had a best friend who was staying with my family and I while she was working on living on her own. Her life came to a hard time when her family decided to move out of state. She did not want to move with them, so we were willing to step in and help her. Overtime, she shared with me that she had a boyfriend who was discussing marriage plans with her. I was shocked because she never shared that information with me before and I felt like he should have been the one to help her when she needed it the most.     As time progressed, she chose to marry her boyfriend and move out of our house. I always felt unsure about him, because he seemed to be someone that couldn’t be trusted, based on how he claimed to love her, but was never around to show it. From my perspective her relationship reflected this theory, because she was far more desperate for love, giving him more power in their relationship. Prior to our loss of contact I confronted him because I was concerned for her safety. My heart broke for her, I was witnessing my best friend being with someone who had the most power in their relationship. There were several times when I overheard him mistreating her and her response would involve catering to him, with words that reassured him that she loved him with her whole heart. He was a man who failed to treat her the way she deserved to be treated. To this day I have not heard from her. I would like to incorporate the techniques of using touch, and asking open-ended questions to improve my communication skills. I feel like these effective techniques will provide me with more opportunities to become a better communicator. For example, if a disagreement were to happen between my husband and I, these techniques would bring us closer together. It would allow me to show that I am interested in learning more about how we could solve any arising issues. These are some techniques that could help our marriage grow stronger. In regards to using soft emotions, I could begin to express sadness or hurt when my husband is having a difficult time discussing his day at work. The use of soft emotions would also help me demonstrate to anyone who I may disagree with, that their opinions are valued, and that we are able to make compromises within our friendships. Through the use of asking open-ended questions it would allow me to gain a better understanding of what someone is going through. It would provide the other person the opportunity to share any information. From my understanding, I realize that although these two techniques are crucial for effective communication, different combinations can also be very effective communicating tools, when talking to my family, friends, or co-workers. I enjoyed learning about how to improve my communication through the use of David Knox and Caroline Schacht’s fifteen choices for effectively communicating in our relationships.           Resourceshttps://freesociologybooks.com/Sociology_Of_The_Fa…

POST 2

 2- Cindy GilCindy Gil1.  According to authors Knox and Schacht (Esguerra 2023) there are many choices for effective communication, two of those include making communication a priority and touch. One of the techniques that I would like to work on is making communication a priority. Many times, there have been situations that arise and instead of speaking to the person who created the problem, I keep those feeling to myself without talking it out with them. When it does come time to speak up, I usually do not say what is on my mind and my feelings, and just assume that the other person can read by body language and know how I feel about the situation. A second technique that I would like to work on is touch. Many times when I am discussing a situation with someone, I tend to keep my distance from them instead of putting a hand on their shoulder or giving that person a hug when necessary.     Something that I can do to incorporate these techniques is by beginning to speak up instead of retaining all of my feelings. Before speaking, I will take a deep breath and think about how I will say things in order to take into consideration the other person’s feelings as well as mine. Something else that I can do is become a better listener. When the other person is speaking to me, I will make ensure that I am listening to everything that they are saying, instead of focusing on my own thoughts. Another technique that I can do is put a hand on someone’s shoulder or knee when they are upset to try to calm them down. When someone is upset or crying, I can offer them a hug to try to help comfort them.2. One example in which my communication was negatively impacted was with a ex-coworker of mine. According to Raven (Esguerra 2023) one type of power in a relationship is the coercive power, where an individual puts fear of punishment in them if they do not do as they are told. This ex-coworker was a case manager where I worked and there came a time where she had so many patients, that it became difficult for her to keep up with her patient’s appointments and transportations. The administrator asked if I could help her until her number of patients went down, I agreed. Soon after, she would constantly be calling and texting me regardless if I was at work or not demanding to know if certain tasks were completed. If I didn’t complete what she requested at the time that she wanted, because on top of it all, I still had all my obligations to complete, she would constantly threaten to not only report me to the administrator, but to also call the patients’ families and inform them that I was not doing my job and she would offer to give them the phone number to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to report me for neglecting a patient. If anything went wrong with a transportation, for example, they arrived late or did not send the appropriate equipment or staff, she would make sure to let everyone know that it was my fault (although there was nothing I could do about it). The one time that she did report me and I was called to the administrator’s office to speak to him about what was happening, she would not let me talk. She would stop me mid-sentence and say how easy my job was and there was no excuse for any mistakes. She would constantly bring up that if I couldn’t do the job right, I should either leave or be fired. After that meeting, she was constantly on me, threatening to get the administrator involved if anything went wrong.      Because I had the constant fear of her reporting me, it became very difficult for me to communicate at all with her. I avoided all eye contact with her, I would ensure to keep my distance and try to avoid her at all costs. I isolated myself and tried my best to not talk to anyone in the office in fear of saying something wrong and someone telling her what I said. ReferencesEsguerra, Tamatha. (2023). Choices for Effective Communication. From: https://csufullerton.instructure.com/courses/33630…Esguerra, Tamatha. (2023). Raven & Colleagues’ Six Types of Power in a Relationship. From: https://csufullerton.instructure.com/courses/33630…