Using self-responsibility to improve communications: one nurse's perspective

When incomplete or poor communication occurs, it is often because one or both parties are not taking responsibility for their own thoughts, feelings, or actions. This article looks at the need for individuals to take responsibility for what they think, feel, and want, and prompts the next step of being responsible for what they then actually do and say about an issue. Examples of ineffective communication are presented along with an Awareness Grid, a tool that can help one learn to behave and to communicate in a manner consistent with who one is and what one really needs and wants. Professional and personal relationships can be strengthened and made more forthright when parties communicate honestly without the interference of inappropriate emotions, incorrect or incomplete facts, unsubstantiated ideas about another person or situation, or defensive or protective personal goals.