Discussion 1:
Why do disagreements and conflict make us uneasy?
There are those that identify as battlers, those that avoid conflict at any cost, and those that are the collaborators or peacemakers. Which type are you?
Why do you gravitate toward this style?
Is it genetic or something you learned?
Who else in your family or household also utilizes this style?
Does birth order have anything to do with it? (It is said that middle children are
often the peacemakers because they grow up in the middle of conflict.)
How come some people have a high tolerance for disagreements and conflict while others have a very low tolerance?
Are there benefits to conflict?
How does conflict influence our life choices (e.g., relationships, occupations, etc.)?
Discussion 2:
What is the most significant friendship you’ve experienced in life?
What made this friendship special, one that you will treasure for the rest of your life?
How did you meet this person?
What characteristics are present in the friendship making it so remarkable?
How has this friendship enriched your life?
What life events have this friendship sustained you’re your friend through?
Why is this friendship the most significant when other friendships began in similar ways and also embody similar characteristics?
Conversely, what’s the worst friendship you’ve ever had?
What made this friendship the worst?
How did you meet this person?
What characteristics made the friendship so negative?
What have you learned about making and maintaining friendships after such a negative experience?
Discussion 3:
The chapter outlined several family models (e.g., consensual, protective, pluralistic, and laissez-faire)
occurring along two continuums (socio-orientation and concept-orientation).
What model best describes the family model utilized by your family growing up?
What aspects of the model did you like and why?
What aspects of the model did you dislike and why?
Why do families adopt different family models?
How does such an adoption occur – is it a conscious decision, informed by culture, etc.?
Do families adhere to the same model through the family’s lifespan or are different models adopted as the family evolves?
Why or why not?
Discussion 4:
Taken from Interpersonal Communication: A Mindful Approach to Relationships OER Instructor’s Manual page 384.
Social media platforms provide individuals with increased opportunities to engage in online discussions.
How does mediated communication benefit interpersonal communication?
How does it harm interpersonal communication?
How does your relationship with the person you are communicating with (or the lack of
such a relationship) impact your mediated communication style?
How does the anonymity of mediated communication impact communication styles?
How has mediated communication impacted society as a whole? More specifically, how has social media impacted society?
How do past mediated interactions influence your future decisions concerning mediated communication? What factors do you consider when posting something on social media?
Discussion 5:
What aspects of netiquette do you practice the most when communicating online?
Taken from Interpersonal Communication: A Mindful Approach to Relationships OER Instructor’s Manual page 423.
This chapter highlighted several types of problematic workplace relationships involving bosses, coworkers,
and subordinates. In comparison, what types of bosses, coworkers, and subordinates create welcoming,
respectful, collaborative, productive, and ethical work environments?
What interpersonal qualities are exhibited within a healthy leader-follower relationship and why are such characteristics important?
What interpersonal qualities are exhibited within positive coworker relationships?
Why are these kinds of work environments important for both employers and employees?
How do we go about creating and maintaining them?
Discussion 6:
*Taken from Interpersonal Communication: A Mindful Approach to Relationships OER Instructor’s Manual page 459.
Relationships take work. They have their ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses. Couples need to have
the space to discuss those weaknesses to improve the health of the relationship. How can couples talk about
these weaknesses without crossing the line into negative and hurtful communication behaviors?
Does your relationship provide a safe space in which to have those discussions?
If not, how do you create such a space within the relationship?
How do couples discuss what behaviors are permitted within the relationship and which ones are off-limits?
What happens if one individual within the relationship engages in behavior that is outside of those relationship parameters?
How would you want your partner to share that information with you?
What advantages and disadvantages are associated with these types of conversations with your
partner?
Where is the line in the sand – the point where such behaviors are so destructive that you feel that the relationship needs to end?
Discussion 7:
I hope that you learned a lot about communication, and what it means to be a competent interpersonal communicator!
1. What is the most valuable thing that you learned in this course?
