Chapter Introduction
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11
Connecting with Others
Enhance Your Communication Skills
Build Emotional Intelligence
Resolve Conflict
Grow and Sustain Healthy Relationships
Embrace Diversity
Connect with Others at Work
My Personal Success Plan
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Imagine how you would respond to the following scenarios:
While your significant other is talking, your mind starts to drift. Suddenly your loved one snaps, “You never listen to me!” and stomps out.
You review your psychology syllabus on the first day of class, and you see that there will be a group assignment. You don’t know anyone else in the class.
In a job interview, the interviewer explains that the company wants to hire employees who respect people’s differences and treat each other fairly. She asks you to give examples of how well you work with people from diverse backgrounds.
If you can easily imagine an effective way to respond to each of these scenarios, you may have a natural ability to connect with other people — and to maintain those connections. And if you had difficulty responding to these scenarios? You can learn how to build and strengthen connections, even in challenging or emotionally charged situations. In fact, no matter how confident you are in your abilities, there is always room for growth, and it’s worth investing the time to strengthen your skills.
Why is connecting with others so important? Because healthy connections form the foundation of a successful, satisfying life, both while you’re in school and after you graduate. For example, the connection skills we explore in this chapter may help you communicate more effectively, understand and manage emotions, and resolve conflicts productively. In addition, you can use these skills to build and sustain healthy, positive relationships with a diverse array of people — from group members and instructors in college, to supervisors, colleagues, and customers in the workplace.
With that in mind, this chapter begins with a look at two vital aspects of effective communication: listening actively and speaking effectively. We then explore how to strengthen your emotional intelligence (including how to recognize, understand, and manage emotions in yourself and others) and manage conflict. Next, we examine how connecting with others can enhance your existing relationships, help you build new ones, and strengthen your relationships with people from different backgrounds. Finally, we consider the benefits of transferring these skills to the workplace.
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Reflect
On Your Connections with Others
Take a moment to reflect on your Connecting with Others score on ACES. To review your results, click here.
This score measures your beliefs about how well you connect with others. Do you think it’s an accurate snapshot of your current skills in this area? Why or why not?
IF YOU SCORED IN THE HIGH RANGE and you’re confident that this score is accurate, you may be great at making connections. Still, consider how you can strengthen this skill. For example, you can probably think of at least one interpersonal interaction — a job interview, a disagreement with a classmate, an argument with a loved one — that you could have handled more effectively if you had better understood and managed the emotions that arose during that interaction. As you read this chapter, you’ll learn new techniques you can use to build on your current connection skills.
IF YOU SCORED IN THE MODERATE OR LOW RANGE, take action: This chapter is filled with tips and strategies you can use to connect more effectively with others. Use these approaches to boost your confidence and build rewarding relationships with the people in your life!
MY ACES SCORE
HIGH
MODERATE
LOW
To find your Connecting with Others score, go to the LaunchPad for Connections.