Have you noticed that as stress increases, the channels to communication often break down? The conversational waters become polluted with the flotsam and jetsam of bad feelings which could include anger, resentment, withdrawal and lack of cooperation.
Problems can arise whenever one or both parties involved are stressed. Negative thoughts and feelings can quickly set a conversation off-course. The listener may not be fully engaged or misconstrue the context of what is being said. The speaker may have difficulty with expressing how they feel in a respectful or constructive manner.
Regularly practicing stress transformation techniques will help you safely navigate the sometimes murky conversational waters.
If you are learning another language, stress techniques will help you there, too! (More about this in a future post.)
That was so funny, mind you it does not need to be a different language; when I moved here the 100 miles or so from Dublin, the local accents of Northern Ireland were so strange to me, It has taken me years to relax and become comfortable with the variety of speech and dialect.
Marianna, that is hilarious. Being Indian, I can come up with a hundred similar scenarios!
Oh my goodness, Marianna. Love the video! Such an innocent response to a very critical situation!
Goodness, as much as I pride myself in my written communications, I am always so dismayed when involved in an oral conversation that has gone off course because of the other party’s, or ‘my’ feelings of stress.
Your stress transformation techniques certainly would be just the right navigational tools to move through such murky conversational waters.
Spot-on post and metaphor!
Jacqui
Jacqui,
I think we’ve all had experience thrashing around in murky conversational waters.
We can learn and practise managing our actions in various conditions.