Communication Paper

Select an interpersonal relationship you have or had a major conflict in.(I’m Japanese) This could be the same interpersonal relationship you discussed in the previous paper. The conflict could be a one-time major conflict or a long, repetitive conflict.
Use this relationship and the related conflict to answer the following questions in an MLA formatted, double spaced, five to six-page paper.

Communication Paper

Include at least four citations from your textbook and/or other course materials. Do not use other sources.
Please see rubric below for grading details.
1. Describe the nature of the relationship and your interpersonal goals for the relationship prior to the conflict, include relational, self-presentation and instrumental goals.

Communication Paper

2. Conflict stems from perceptions of incompatible goals or interference with objectives. How were your goals incompatible with this person and/or how did you perceive the other person as interfering with your ability to achieve your objectives? OR perhaps it was vice versa. How did they perceive you interfering with their ability to achieve their objectives?

3. What conflict approaches did you employ while pursuing this conflict? Were they effective? Why or why not? Be specific about the verbal and nonverbal choices you made as a result of the given conflict style.

4. Identify a moment where you may have reacted defensively in this conflict. Which of the four types of defensive messages did you use to respond? What attributions did you make about the other person’s suggestion, advice, or criticism? What were the results of your response? What could you do differently next time?

Communication Paper

5. How did your nonverbal communication choices impact the escalation or de-escalation of the conflict? How did the other person’s nonverbal communication choices impact the escalation or de-escalation of the conflict? Be specific about which behaviors had an impact and why.

6. Describe how the quality of the relationship impacted the conflict (romantic, family or friendship). Draw on the appropriate chapters to describe the nature of the relationship and it’s inherent communication patterns.

7. Were you satisfied with the results of the conflict? Why or why not? What might you have changed about your communication within this conflict if you were to do it again?