Life Skills and Leadership Manual - Peace Corps

Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 2, Session 2: Positive Communication | Page 21 of 127

A cup of tea always warms me up. (Indirect)

Did you leave the door open? (Direct)

Now, how could that door have gotten open? (Indirect)

People should be more careful about sharing their opinions. (Indirect)

He always has such strong opinions. (Direct)

Why didn’t you do your chores? (Direct)

Some people must have been too busy to work around the house. (Indirect)

I don’t like her dress. (Direct)

My, the styles sure have changed recently. (Indirect)

“In addition, different situations might require us to be more or less direct. For example, it might be all

right for a teacher to be more direct with a student, but not all right for a student to be direct with a

teacher.

What are some situations when it might be better to be direct? (Possible answers: In an

emergency. When you are giving instructions.)

What are some situations when it might be better to be indirect? (Possible answers: When you

aren’t sure of the best answer. When you don’t want to embarrass the other person.)

What are some disadvantages to each of the two styles? (Possible answers: Direct

communication can hurt feelings or embarrass people. Indirect communication can mean

something important doesn’t get done and may result in miscommunication.)

What examples of either direct or indirect communication have you experienced in the past

week?

“Each culture has a preference for communicating in a way that is either more direct or more indirect.

Americans usually prefer to communicate more directly than many other cultures, for example.

However, as individuals we each have a preference even within our culture. What would you say about

your own culture, is it more direct or more indirect? What style do you personally like better? Why?

“Being able to tell whether someone is speaking to you directly or indirectly increases your ability to

communication effectively.”

B. Better Communication: I Statements
Participants learn the second of two types of positive communication techniques.
Note: You may want to make a link to the handout “Put Down Turn Around” used in the Application section of Unit 1,
Session 3.

1. Introduce the concept of using “I Statements” for effective communication. Say:

“Suppose you had a brother who did not take his turn to help with household chores. What would you

think, how would you react, what would you say, how would you feel?”