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Communication

 

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is being able to express your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs with other people.  This skill is very important for high school aged students because it during this phase in your life that you're pushing for independence from your parents.  These skills will earn you more of that freedom if you can express yourself and display that you can handle more responsibility.  A lot of that can be accomplished by, of course, your behavior but also just the words you select and how you present them.  Three effective communication strategies are say what you mean, be mindful of how you say something, and be an active listener.

Conflict Resolution

It seems a weak area for teens is their conflict resolution skills.  Many teens do not have the skills to end a conflict through cooperation and problem solving.  This probably is because many teens are still learning how to communicate effectively.  Here are some steps to follow when dealing with a conflict:

  1. Before acting, take time to calm down and think about the situation.
  2. Remember effective communication occurs when you clearly say what you mean without putting blame on someone else, to use "I" messages, and to be an active listener.
  3. Try to come up with solutions together without either person losing respect for each other.

Self Management Skills

Self management skills are used to help you take responsibility for your health.  The two skills that provide a base of good health are practicing healthful behaviors and managing stress.

Practicing healthful behaviors would include developing refusal skills.  Refusal skills are communication strategies that help you say no in situations you are urged to do behaviors that are unsafe or unhealthful, or against your beliefs.

Refusal Strategies

  1. say no in a firm voice - you must sound like you mean it.
  2. explain why - tell the person why not  
  3. suggest other alternatives - offer a safer, healthful activity instead
  4. use appropriate body gestures - make sure that you do not send a mix message by looking down or becoming anxious

 Stress Management

Stress is a part of all of our lives.  What is stress?  Belief it or not, stress is based on our perception, or how we internally see things.  What about physical stress?  Yes, there is such a thing also.  Physical stress are the demands we place on our body.  Does everyone experience the same level of stress with the same or similar stressors?  No.  One student may see only having two hundred dollars for the weekend as being stressful but another may not be stressed at all or even very happy.  One person may run five miles with little effort while another maybe exhausted after five minutes of walking.  We all react to everyday demands differently.

The key is how we deal with stress.  Stress manangement refers to how we deal with the negative effects of stress.  Teens experience more and more stress as they go through high school.  There are internal influences which include their experiences, values, likes, dislikes, and desires.  External influences are outside influences like their family, friends, peers, culture, laws, and the media.  These influences become stressful because as a teen, you have to make choices which cause you to choose between internal influences and external influences and also sometimes between within each of the two types of influences.

 

 

Information for this webpage is for informational purposes only.  More information about the topics on this page can be found in our school health book. 

Reference: 

Merki, M.B., Merki, D. (2004). Glencoe Health: Ninth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill.