Читать книгу The Interpersonal Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 62

This text shares skills you can practice to enhance your interpersonal presence. Commit to practicing them. How you present yourself, perceive others, use words and nonverbal cues, listen, progress in a relationship, overcome relational obstacles, demonstrate trust and trustworthiness, and handle your emotions all affect your effectiveness when interacting with friends, family members, coworkers, health providers, and others. The extent to which you practice and apply the skills we discuss will determine whether you add to your interpersonal behavioral repertoire, demonstrating your interpersonal versatility and resourcefulness.

How omnipresent is technology in your life? Could you live without it? Would you want to?

iStock.com/PeopleImages

Connect the Case: The Case of Sylvia and Khalil

“After he left my dorm, he texted me, ‘I’m sorry, it’s over.’ That’s all he said,” Sylvia told her roommate Justine. “How could he end things just like that? Why didn’t he talk to me when we were together? I thought everything was fine with us.”

Sylvia and Khalil had been together for several months. They had met on campus at the beginning of the semester and had been seeing each other regularly. Sylvia had even invited Khalil to spend Thanksgiving with her at her parents’. They had returned to campus after the holiday, and then this happened. “What did I do to cause this?” Sylvia asked Justine. “Do you think he met someone else?”

Sylvia was despondent. Questions raced through her mind. She tried to access Khalil’s Facebook page, but he had already defriended her, deleted her pictures, and changed his relationship status to single. She decided to text him back, asking, “What happened? What did I do?” Then she turned off her cell, afraid of what he would text back to her.

Khalil was sitting in his off-campus apartment staring blankly at his iPad. He had just defriended Sylvia and changed his Facebook status. He didn’t feel good about it, but he told himself he had no choice. Now she was texting him. He didn’t want to read it. “How can I tell her the truth?” he wondered. Sure, they had had some great times together—but that was until he went home with her for Thanksgiving dinner. Soon after entering Sylvia’s parents’ home, Khalil had begun to feel uncomfortable. Her folks were nice enough, but he sensed a certain amount of distance on their part.

By the time they had finished dinner, Khalil was certain that because he was Egyptian, Sylvia’s parents had reservations about him. They hadn’t done or said anything directly to him; he just had a feeling. Maybe he should have raised his concerns with Sylvia. But he told himself that ending things this way was easier. Was he right? Khalil just didn’t know. He turned off his cell.²⁸