Level 1 Social Outcome OutlineCommunication</em>_ decision-Making Skills_Fidelity Measures

I. Communication

A. Avoiding Misunderstandings

Learning Activities

Define "misunderstanding"; misunderstanding is a failure of communication which results when the receiver understands the message differently than it was intended by the sender.
Discuss how misunderstandings develop.
Review the skills for avoiding misunderstandings and give examples of each: sending the same verbal and nonverbal message, asking questions, being specific, paraphrasing.
Discuss how misunderstandings can be avoided, including using the skills.

B. The Value of Asking Questions

Points to be Made/Key Take-Aways

Asking questions can dramatically improve your understanding of what someone means when they tell you something.
Asking questions helps to clarify things that may be difficult to communicate.

Session Summary

C. Family Communications

The older I get, the more things change...

Points to be Made/Key Take-Aways

We have different needs and abilities at different times in our lives.
As we mature in age, our different needs and abilities affect our roles within our families.
Adolescents need independence, peer relationships, the opportunities to take healthy risks and make their own decisions, and the space to develop their identities.
Adults have to learn how to balance teen needs with parental concerns to enable the teens to make good decisions, engage in safe activities, and maintain healthy communication with the family.
Verbal and non-verbal techniques include active and passive listening, using open-ended questions, and looking at the person.
Understanding doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with others’ points of view. Similarly, misunderstanding doesn’t mean we disagree.
Understanding can increase the opportunities for agreement and respectful acceptance for disagreement.
There is a difference between reaching an understanding and reaching an agreement and it is important to know the difference.

Family Interview (Out-of-Class Activity)

Points to be Made/Key Take-Aways

It is important for parents and children to discuss each other’s expectations regarding substance use and what is appropriate.

D. Communicating for Understanding Skills

Sometimes we have to agree to disagree

Points to be Made/Key Take-Aways

The more we practice our communication and conflict resolution skills, the more we can decrease our misunderstandings and increase our understanding of our point or another’s point.
Effective communication skills create trust and respect between people.
Some rules are non-negotiable, because they are about safety.
It is important to understand even if you don’t agree, and to know when something can be negotiated and when you have to follow the rules.
Understanding others’ views involves comprehending what the other person means even if we don’t agree with it.
Effective communication is the respectful exchange of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs between a speaker and a listener in such a way that the listener interprets the message in the same way the speaker intended it.
Empathize means understanding and being sensitive to the other person’s feelings, thoughts, and experience.

I Mean What I Say (Out-of-Class Activity)

ACTIVITIES

E. Code Switching

Points to be Made/Key Take-Aways

There are many different types of relationships in our lives, each with its own standard of behavior.
Knowing whether the relationship we have with a person is formal or informal can help us determine which behaviors are productive to use.

F. Collaborating, Negotiating, Compromising

Points to be Made/Key Take-Aways

Collaborating, negotiating, and compromising are skills that can help us build and maintain relationships in different areas of our lives in ways that help preserve and strengthen them.
These skills can help resolve disagreements in a way that respects each person’s needs and goals.
An important part of achieving success with these skills is that everyone involved has a mutual understanding of the end target.
We are more likely to achieve a shared goal or resolve a disagreement, as well as build and maintain our relationships, when we use collaborating, negotiating, and compromising.
Collaborating, negotiating, and compromising are specific skills that we can use to successfully build relationships in ways that preserve and strengthen them.
Healthy relationships depend on people working together to create an atmosphere that promotes mutual trust, honesty, respect, accountability, and safety.
Collaborating involves people coordinating their skills, efforts, and knowledge in order to reach a common end.
Negotiating involves people in a disagreement working together to come to an agreement so that everyone feels their respective interests are satisfied; also known as a “win-win” situation.
Compromising involves settling a difference so that each person gives up something in order to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.

Session Summary

ACTIVITIES

Level 1 Social Outcome OutlineCommunication_ decision-Making Skills_Fidelity Measures