Personal Safety Nets

Your goal is to build a dependable team by communicating clearly and effectively.

Good communicators:

• Are aware of their conversational style and habits
• Know what styles and habits in other people are diffi cult for them
• Are fl exible in their communi­cating
• Sincerely desire to create shared meaning with others
• Interpret gently

Barriers to good communication:

• Assuming that your style is the right style
• Judging a person’s character based upon his/her communi- cation style
• Being inflexible
• Interpreting other peoples’ meanings as you would your own

People start off with different assumptions about the world and about relationships. This can lead to differing communication styles.

Communication styles

Type A (sometimes labeled as female):

• See themselves as individuals in a network of connections
• Prefer to be connected
• Might say, “We’re close and have much in common”                                     
• Often define role as to help one another

Type B (sometimes labeled as male):

• See themselves as individuals in hierarchical structure of individ­uals
• Prefer to know who has more or less power
• Often see others as potential threats
• See people as “separate and dif- ferent”
• Often see their role as protecting someone or something