Essay on team communication and problem solving

On team communication and problem solving - Essay Example Conflicts always arise in families with a common blood running through their veins, between lovers who share intimate moments and even among friends who have the same interests. Therefore, it should be without wonder when conflicts arise among officemates or classmates. Nevertheless, the commonness of conflict should not make one simply shrug his shoulders in the presence of conflict. Resolutions such as communication should be sought. This paper looks deeper into the role of communication in conflict management among team members and suggests ways in which people would come to understand further the use of communication to improve team performances and relationships. Communication is very important in every relationship. Nevertheless, people often get exhausted in their communication with others because their expectations are not met. Instead of having the problems resolved, most people encounter more problems and so many times, the problems actually grow bigger. This is because the y fail to see that their communication is ineffective. ... When one listens, he is able to process what is being said more effectively and in effect, will be able to say the right words or respond correctly. Jeane Segal and Melinda Smith agree with Lay and they also suggest people in conflict to â€Å"listen not only to what is said but also to what is felt†. They emphasize looking deeper into nonverbal communication expressed through facial expressions, posture, gesture, pace, tone and intensity of voice. Indeed, these are very important because emotions are the strong driving forces that make people say the words they speak. Human beings are also emotional beings and they often react to words in accordance to how they feel. For instance, when a person points out to another individual that the dress she is wearing is not fashionable, the other person may take it as an insult toward herself and not as a harmless comment about the dress, although the latter was the intention of the speaker. As a result, a conflict may ensue. Therefore, in addition to verbal communication, non-verbal communication should also be given much attention. The aforementioned authors also suggest that conflicts should be managed through non-verbal communication as well. For example, in the illustration given above, when the person saying the dress is not fashionable utters such with contempt, it could be that she is jealous of the other person. Therefore, instead of being offended and angry, the other person may simply give a reassuring touch that tells the person she does not need to be jealous. In addition, when it comes to team conflicts, members should be open-minded to effectively resolve problems. Kenneth Wallace, a seasoned consultant, speaker