The Secret Power of Communicating Feelings 101
I feel frustrated and confused.If you are in therapy, go into great detail about what you
are feeling. In most conversations, a simple sentence or two will
serve you better. Be brief instead.
People are often reluctant to communicate feelings because
they are afraid of sounding too emotional. When you keep your
mention of emotions short, it actually creates a balance to the
rest of your message.
PowerPhrases to Say What You Feel Are
Specific
When you talk about feelings, express specific emotions. Tell
them you are frustrated, annoyed, elated, and exhausted. Let
them know when you are overwhelmed, concerned, frantic, or
serene. Avoid expressing judgments that are disguised as feel-
ings. If you say,
I feel like you’re an idiot.I feel this isn’t right.I feel you mistreated me.Your words communicate thoughts not feelings. When you
express a thought as a feeling, it creates confusion. When you
express the specific feelings behind the thoughts, it adds power
to your message.
There is a tendency in our culture to use general words to