Feb 27 2009
“I” Statements in Interpersonal Skills
We have been talking a bit about promotability and developing yourself and your people skills. One skill we can all use to improve the way we communicate with others is the use of “I” statements, instead of criticism.
Instead of saying “You are lazy.” We can say something like “I found you sleeping in a chair three times this week and that makes me concerned that you are not getting your work done.”
Or a better example of using “I” statements is when the action of the individual elicits a particular reaction in you. So when someone yells at you and calls you a fool, instead of saying “You are mean and a bad person.” You can say “I was upset when you told me that I was a fool. I felt real bad and my feelings were hurt.”
Imagine that you are the one hearing these two approaches to the same set of circumstances. To which one are you likely to respond positively and constructively? “I” thought so.
