Rebecca Waite Interpersonal Communication Proposal Assignment 9/20/2013

Goal When in a debate or argument I will not have a win-at-all-costs attitude.

Rationale When I am obsessively dedicated to winning arguments I might say or infer things that damage friendships, and most of the things being argued over arent even that important. I want to be able to debate and still be friends at the end of the night and accept that my viewpoint is not the only one, no matter how hard I try to convince my friends it is.

Strategies 1. I will be flexible rather than rigid when engaged in an argument by not immediately insisting that I am right. (Beebe, 2011, p. 175) 2. I will use more supportive responses and try to find things that we both agree on. (Beebe, 2011, p. 147) 3. I will not be an ambush listener, or someone who is just waiting to criticize. I will listen until their thought is complete before responding. (Beebe, 2011, p. 126) 4. If I go too far in my attempts to win an argument I will apologize afterwards when I have calmed down. (Beebe, 2011, p. 177)

Implementation I will beginning implanting these strategies today (September 20, 2013), as my roommates and I argue a lot and likely will have the opportunity to test them out tonight. I will journal my

progress of how I react to people not agreeing with me and seeing their points of view. This will help me keep track of the little things we argue about and realize that they arent important.

Works Cited Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond. (2011). Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others. Boston: Pearson Education/ Allyn & Bacon.