Masking Poor Communication
Masking Poor Communication 1
Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication LaSaundra Mansfield
COM 200
Catherine Marciniak
December 17, 2012
Masking Poor Communication 2
In growing up my mother always taught me to say what I really mean, and to really mean what I say. She also taught me that communication was the key to being successful in anything I may do in life. After reading the article, Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication, I learned that there are reasons why we think we have communicated well with others. According to the article, people commonly believe that they communicate better with close friends than with strangers (2011 Health Day). Miscommunication can take place because in being close to someone it is easy to overestimate how well you really communicate. The article mentioned a study that was done where married couples were asked to figure out the meaning of phrases whose meaning wasn’t entirely clear. To their surprise, the spouses thought they communicated better than they did. The wife thought it meant one thing while the husband thought it meant something entirely different. This reminds me of something that happened during a conversation between me and my sister. My youngest daughter was graduating from high school and I had planned a luncheon for our entire out of town guest immediately following graduation with dinner to follow later that evening. I had prepared chicken salad to be eaten at the luncheon however; with the number of family that arrived, I needed to add more ingredients after returning home from graduation. With the excitement about my youngest child graduating, who is also the youngest niece and granddaughter, everyone was offering to help in any way needed.
Masking Poor Communication 3
My sister told me she was going to take my mother back to my house so they could relax and eat something before the crowd got there. Knowing that my mother, aunt and
Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication LaSaundra Mansfield
COM 200
Catherine Marciniak
December 17, 2012
Masking Poor Communication 2
In growing up my mother always taught me to say what I really mean, and to really mean what I say. She also taught me that communication was the key to being successful in anything I may do in life. After reading the article, Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication, I learned that there are reasons why we think we have communicated well with others. According to the article, people commonly believe that they communicate better with close friends than with strangers (2011 Health Day). Miscommunication can take place because in being close to someone it is easy to overestimate how well you really communicate. The article mentioned a study that was done where married couples were asked to figure out the meaning of phrases whose meaning wasn’t entirely clear. To their surprise, the spouses thought they communicated better than they did. The wife thought it meant one thing while the husband thought it meant something entirely different. This reminds me of something that happened during a conversation between me and my sister. My youngest daughter was graduating from high school and I had planned a luncheon for our entire out of town guest immediately following graduation with dinner to follow later that evening. I had prepared chicken salad to be eaten at the luncheon however; with the number of family that arrived, I needed to add more ingredients after returning home from graduation. With the excitement about my youngest child graduating, who is also the youngest niece and granddaughter, everyone was offering to help in any way needed.
Masking Poor Communication 3
My sister told me she was going to take my mother back to my house so they could relax and eat something before the crowd got there. Knowing that my mother, aunt and
References: Sole, K. (2011).Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. Copyright © 2011 HealthDay