Introduction
Interpersonal communication is interaction and communication between people in which thoughts and ideas are shared. The communication can involve spoken words, sign language, facial expressions, body language, written words, symbols, pictures, Braille, or any method that allows information to be exchanged. The communication can be between two people or more than two people. The people can be face-to-face, connected electronically, or exchanging written documents. This course is about exploring and explaining how people communicate on different levels, how words can help to make life wonderful or miserable, and how words can enhance relationships or destroy them. It is important to understand these concepts to have a meaningful and fulfilling life, and it is my hope that I learn these concepts throughout this course.
Interpersonal Situation
In interpersonal situations, ethical issues are sometimes, perhaps frequently, encountered. An ethical issue is a set of circumstances in which a moral decision about right and wrong must be made. Several years ago, my father was dying of congestive heart failure and cancer. He also had broken his hip for the second time and was bed-ridden. He was in Hospice and was living out his final days on a hospital bed in my parents’ living room. He was cheerful, optimistic, and liked to tell funny stories and jokes. He believed that he was going to recover and return to his normal life. One day he was talking about how his hip was getting better, and that he was going to be well soon. He was making plans about the things he was going to do when he got well. My mother went to his bedside and said, “You’re not going to get well.” Daddy asked, “I’m not?” My mother said, “No, you’re not. You are dying.” I was devastated that she could tell him such a thing. My mother was faced with an ethical dilemma. She could have told him the truth, or she could have kept quiet and let him live his final days happy and hopeful. She instantly decided that she should tell him the worst news possible. Her words were not reversable. I certainly would not have made the same decision. The memory of that encounter still brings me to tears. My mother’s sense of right and wrong was not the same as mine. But the decision was hers, and she made it.
Communication Principles
The situation with my father primarily related to Principle 3: Interpersonal Communication Involves Ethical Choices. My mother decided that the right choice was to tell the truth. I believe that she made the wrong choice. My mother also was restricted by Principle 2: Interpersonal Communication Is Irreversible. She could never take back what she said. I believe that she did not “Engage in Dual Perspective.” She did not show any understanding of my dad’s perspective, thoughts, or feelings. Wood (2016, p. 37) says that people who cannot take the perspectives of others are egocentric, and they impose their perceptions on others. The most basic level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs indicates that communication helps humans meet the need to survive (Wood, 2016, p. 22). With respect to my father, that need was not met.
Closing
My advice to myself and others, to avoid this situation in the future is to always try to “Engage in Dual Perspective.” I must try to see things from other people’s points of view. I believe that from my father’s point of view, he did not want to hear that he was dying and that he had no hope of survival. I will not always be able to understand what other people are feeling and thinking, but I must try.
References
Wood, Julia T. (2016). Interpersonal Communication Everyday Encounters. Cengage Learning.