Critical psychology teaches us that our social world and our perception of the world is based on our experiences and our experiences are based on our attitudes, culture and up bringing, which in turn are effected by culture and are historically contextual. It is important to understand that our perceptions do not in anyway reflect others perceptions, they are our own creations. It is further necessary to understand that no one directly verbalises their inner thoughts, fears and attitudes. These are entirely contextual and are based on the available information and what is the persons desired outcome of the communication.
When this is realised it is easy to understand how communication break downs can occur.
When you are requesting change first consider:
- If a person has prior experience of a negative situation regarding the topic under discussion it is most likely that they will form some prior assumptions before responding.
- When communicating anything to another person make sure that you break down any misunderstandings due to preconceived ideas.
How many times have you said or heard said “oh that is what you meant, I thought you were telling me ……
This occurs due to a persons brain fore-thinking what the other person is about to say this then forms the bases of what is said rather than what is actually said.
- This leads to our next recommendation for good communication which leads to true perception of the situation, which is actually listen when another person is speaking.
- another good idea is to ask for clarification or reiterate what is said.
So today we have looked at perceptions and how they can be altered but also how simple steps can allow much truer perceptions to be created and allowing for much less misunderstandings in our communications.
