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„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Anger from another, if responded to appropriately, can increase interpersonal<br />

learning and strengthen a relationship. The following steps may be helpful.<br />

Affirm the other’s feelings. An old Jules Feiffer cartoon devotes nine panels to one<br />

character’s building up his anger toward another. Finally, he verbally confronts the other<br />

with “I hate you, you son of a bitch!” The other character replies, “Let us begin by<br />

defining your terms.” To affirm another’s anger is to acknowledge that you are receiving<br />

it and to express a willingness to respond. Disallowing another’s anger usually heightens<br />

its intensity.<br />

Acknowledge your own defensiveness. Let the other person know what you are<br />

feeling. Acknowledge that your own tenseness may lead to miscommunication and<br />

distortion. Develop an awareness of the impact of received anger on your body.<br />

Clarify and diagnose. Give and request specific feedback. Distinguish between<br />

wants and needs. Check expectations. Discover together who owns what in the situation.<br />

When interpersonal needs and wants are on the table, the resolution of anger becomes<br />

more probable.<br />

Renegotiate the relationship. Plan together how similar situations will be dealt with<br />

in the future. Contracting to practice new behavior may help to eliminate the sources of<br />

friction. Acknowledge regret and exchange apologies if that is warranted. Agree on a<br />

third-party mediator to help if the two of you are getting nowhere.<br />

Anger does not disappear if we refuse to deal with it; it continues to grow within us.<br />

If we deal with anger directly, the discomfort and unpleasantness are mitigated by the<br />

new learning and self-strengthening that occur. If we deal with it indirectly, we easily<br />

trap ourselves into polarization, passivity, “gunnysacking,” name calling, blaming,<br />

gaming, and viewing ourselves and our adversaries as weak and fragile. Anger is not the<br />

worst thing in the world. It is a powerful source of energy, which, if creatively and<br />

appropriately expressed, leads to personal growth and improved interpersonal<br />

functioning.<br />

REFERENCE<br />

Huxley, L. (1963). You are not the target. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.<br />

The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 321

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