Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

This conflict took place during my university life in a module I was doing, a large component of which comprised a research project in the laboratory and we worked in groups of four.

Anna and I did most of the planning, experimental set-up and bench work. However, our third groupmate, Betty did not contribute in any of these aspects. The fourth member, Carla, did some work but did not make any major contributions.

As a result, Anna and I became very close and confided in one another our feelings and dislike for Betty. Neither of us willingly talked to her and usually avoided her. Betty and Carla, on the other hand, were on better speaking terms and got along with each other.

When it came to the report, Anna and I sent the data to both Betty and Carla in spite of our unwillingness to do so because of their dearth of contribution. However, Betty could not understand the results which we had already explained briefly. She mailed us repeated asking questions we had already answered and we had to give reasons for our decisions in the laboratory to substantiate our results. Anna and I were frustrated as we had to spend a lot of time replying to her and had to work on our reports at the same time. As the deadline drew closer, we just replied as succinctly as possible and only gave the most relevant information.

Finally, Betty wrote a complaint letter to the person-in-charge saying that Anna and I were uncooperative and refused to share the data with her. Anna and I were outraged on knowing this.

Theoretically, resolving conflicts seems to be a very logical process of taking a step back, thinking and negotiating. What then should Anna and I have done to resolve this conflict?

'Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.' -Dorothy Thompson

Why are effective communication skills important for me?

Interaction between people in today’s society is unavoidable at any level, be it personal, social or professional. Effective communication skills, thus, are important in my day-to-day life so that I can communicate well to ensure the accurate exchange of ideas, prevent confusion and misinterpretations in a normal conversation. Going further, it is important to be able to work well as a team, collate everyone’s ideas and present them in the best possible way.

I feel the most difficult skill to acquire is being able to deliver good oral presentations confidently without memorizing the script and simply reciting it aloud. I would like to work on this area due to its importance in the workplace as the inability to communicate ideas well through a presentation can make one’s work worthless if one’s ideas are not brought across appropriately and completely.

These skills are more so important in the professional world where one needs to have a good resume, polished job interview skills and following the acquisition of a job, is expected to be able to communicate well with one’s colleagues. Well-written and formatted business letters and the delivery of cohesive and informative presentations are also vital skills to be acquired.

Another obstacle to effective communication is the diverse and multi-cultural society today that requires the understanding and adoption of appropriate communication skills to ensure people of different backgrounds and cultures can understand each other better. I hope to be able to acquire these skills through this module to improve myself.