Interpersonal Communication Project

INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION PROJECT

For my Interpersonal Communication project, I was instructed to engage in two separate conversations; one being with an individual I knew but did not feel entirely comfortable with, and the other being with an individual I knew and felt very comfortable with. The first conversation I had took place in my driveway, from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., on Friday, and it was with my cousin, Shaunda, who I feel very comfortable with, as we have been close for over thirty years. The main topic we discussed was her recent decision to file for a divorce. The second conversation took place on Friday evening, in my garage, with my ex-husband who, even though I have known him for twelve years, I am not comfortable
I listened to what she had to say with intent and I kept my eyes on hers while she was talking allowing her to know I was paying attention. I was very careful not to say things that could stir up too much emotion for her because I did not want her to driving home in rush hour traffic during, or on the heels of, an emotional meltdown. By maintaining eye contact and listening more than talking, I was able to show her compassion as well as let her know that what happens to her is very important to me. Throughout the conversation, I caught myself nearly let out a big yawn and luckily I caught myself before it came out and was able to stop it. I did not want her to get the impression she was bothering me. I was also careful not to look my phone to check the time because I did not want her to feel as though I was rushing her. In retrospect, I think I did very well in my conversation with
Before I could even get the words out of my mouth about homeschooling, he began to get loud and talk over me, letting me know he was not in favor of the idea and he was not interested in discussing it. In looking back at the conversation with him, I realize that I have been contributing to our communication deficiencies for a long time now. Throughout most of the conversation with him, I looked down, fearing, almost expecting, the yelling to escalate into something worse. I would not normally carry myself in that manner during a conversation, because it does not portray confidence as well as the fact that people tend to question a person’s honesty if they will not look them in the eye. During the course of our conversation, I began to divert the subject over to something less controversial. In doing so I stood up and began talking about things he was interested in like the cars he is building. As the conversation mellowed out, I was no longer looking at the floor and was able to look at him in the eye and even laugh a little while we