Week 16- Post 3

Overall, I have learned many new concepts about managing conflict through communication. More specifically, I learned about the S-TLC approach, which stands for stop, think, listen and communicate. This approach gives you a series of steps to follow which will help resolve interpersonal conflicts through basic communication skills. This knowledge helped me approach conflict more effectively and positively.

Understanding the concept of “you” versus “I” statements is something that I have learned from this class, and applied to my life. Using a “you” statement blames the other person and has a negative connotation to it. However, using an “I” statement personalizes the conflict by owning up to our feelings. When there is conflict in my life, I make sure to use statements that start with “I”, and avoid using “you” statements.

And most importantly, I learned that conflict is a process, and that there are many ways of approaching conflict, and many solutions.

Week 16- Post 2

What I liked most and would consider a strength about this class was the workshop. I felt that this assignment made us apply the concepts that we learned from the book, but also teaching these concepts to a specific group of people helped us further understand the theories. Another strength about this class, is that by constantly have discussion on what we have learned helped me fully understand the material, and I was also able to apply the material to my life. Furthermore, I also really enjoyed the conflict assessment paper. For this paper, we needed to record any conflict that occurred. I felt that this helped me realize what my strength and weakness are when it comes to dealing with conflict. This awareness helped me manage conflict better.

I would defiantly recommend this class to anyone and everyone. I feel that the knowledge that you gain from this place is relevant to your life and can help improve and restore your relationships. It gives you a different perspective on conflict, and gives you different strategies on how to approach and resolve conflict. 

Week 16- Post 1

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one we have”. I feel that most people have had a negative experience with conflict, and have made the assumption that all conflict results in harming the relationship. Because of this belief, people formed a negative view.  The idea that conflict is “unhealthy” influences how people react. A common reaction from this view is avoidance, and we know that this behavior only makes conflict worse.

I feel that once people start to move away from the assumption that conflict is bad, they may find themselves resolving conflict in a constructive way. As they start to change their perspective, people may be more likely to confront conflict, which helps lead to the resolution phase. If people were more aware that there are many approaches and strategies that they can use to resolve conflict, people would be more inclined to fix their problems.