Comm Mooo Kneee Quay Shun
In case you didn't know what i was on about with the title, this thread is about building our communication skills. A place for us to think through tricky communication situations and work out what to do about them.
So, post your communication problem below and let's all help each other solve them.
Here's my one:
My partner has bad breath, and i don't know how to tell them. Help!
Comments
hi @Ben-RO
i would suggest maybe just changing the type of toothpaste you use to start with
i know some of them actually give you bad breath so it could be something as simple as that..
Ooh that's a good idea @scared01, the tricky thing is we don't live together, so i might have to talk to them about changing the toothpaste, how could i start that conversation? I don't want to hurt their feelings!
ahh ok gotchya @Ben-RO
maybe you could find a good brand yourself and then kindly suggest the brand and meantion how good it is for you and maybe even offer a tube of it and just say you brought some to try and see what they think?
Hmm that's a really good idea too @scared01but i think it's important to communicate with them. Communication should be HOT
Which stands for
Honest
Open
Two ways
I don't think I'm being honest or open by just giving them toothpaste, and there's a chance it might not work too. In which case what do i do? Do i just give the mouthwash? And then breath mints? And then a trip to the dentist? I think by not being open i might not actually get to the cause of the problem. I reckon it's better to tell them about it. But how do i do that? I'm worried they might get their feelings hurt.
'Hey, I've noticed *insert thing here, bad breath if being applied to this situation*. Do you think maybe you could try *insert potential solution here, like fabulous new brand of toothpaste*. I'm not trying to be offensive, just thought I should bring it up. While we're having this awkward conversation, is there anything you want to tell me?' (This is horribly awkward wording, but you get what I mean :P)
And then Ben's partner reveals to him that he's had spinach in his teeth during this whole conversation, and that this tends to happen a lot, and maybe he should try this epic new brand of dental floss.
Clearandeffectivecommunicationisdefinitelyanimportantskilltohave.
It took me a minute to work out the title of the thread, but when I did, I smiled!
@Ben-RO how about using DEARMAN? It's an acronym I pull out when I'm struggling to communicate something. Basically it stands for:
Describe
Express
Assert
Reinforce
stay Mindful
Appear confident
Negotiate
For anyone interested, you can read more about it here
I also like this video:
