Direction: Please read the following passage and answer the questions.

Communication is much more difficult when there is a difference of opinion between employee and supervisor, or between any colleague at work, than when they agree. Laura Carrol has outlined a series of steps for employees to use when they wish to communicate a problem to an employer or coworker or to get a negative situation resolved. The central idea is the idea of creating a thought process that fosters an understanding of what the problem is and how it can best be resolved. She suggests that the employee see the problem from the other person's point of view and make certain that the “facts” of the situation are true from both view ponts. If this can be done, then there exists a level, non judgemental, playing field from which solutions can arise without hurt feelings and misgivings. This is what the communication process is all about : respect for yourself, your ideas, and those of the other person.

Under the stress of differences, however, it is all too easy fFor empathy to disappear and judgment to take the center stage. Any difficult conversation is really three conversations in one, all operating at the same time. The first is the “What happened?” conversation in which you describe “My story” and the other person defends theirs, instead of exploring each other's stories and acknowledging what each party contributed to the issue. Second is the “feelings” conversation — which is often regarded as unprofessional and may be discouraged in the work place. However. emotions are always present, they are normal, and they are data that can more fully inform the nature of the conflict. Finally, there is the "identity" conversation, in which there involved may feel that some of their identity is threatened. Leaders with social competence can navigate these three conversations and transform them into one learning conversation at a time.