How often do we flippantly speak of the importance of communication as if it is something simple and easy? We say it in reference to couples who are about to embark on marriage, we say it when a friendship is on shaky ground, we say it in the context of our workplace and management skills, and we say it in just about every social interaction that isn’t going as we had hoped.
Communication is not simple! Communication is a complex, multifaceted, multilayered, verbal and nonverbal, conscious and unconscious phenomenon. I think many of us take it for granted and I think most of us communicate in a way that we are not even conscious of. The unconscious part of us, the integral, instinctive, reactive and underdeveloped elements of our formation come together during our communications and can negatively impact on our relationships which can then impact on other areas of our life.
Transactional Analysis
The reason I raise this point so bluntly is simply that we need to know more about ourselves and about our reactions and responses to others. Transactional analysis has been around since the late 1950’s, coined by psychiatrist Dr Eric Berne. For anyone who is interested in social psychology, or the study of human interactions, you will be fascinated by the following educational uTube videos. Enjoy and happy pondering!
