by Gabrijela Humerca
My Value (on which the project is based):
Good communication is a key value for all relationships. It’s important in almost every aspect of life (workplace, home, school, etc.) Using good manners and thinking about the voice we use is important. It can make all the difference to how we feel but also to get what we want.
The goal of the project:
The aim of the project was to introduce youngsters at the program Project learning for young adults (PUM-O) to the basics of Transactional Analysis. We were trying to examine closely what happens when people communicate with each other and tried to make them aware of how the way something is said governs what happens next. We were talking about ego states and ability to recognise each of them, change them and therefore avoid conflict. The youngsters taking part in the PUM-O programme are mainly school dropouts or individuals with all sorts of difficult life experiences, so teaching them how to improve their communication skills is essential.
Method(s) used:
We used the method of group discussion. We handed out worksheets and the participants were expected to participate actively by expressing their opinion, collaboration and giving feedback on different tasks.
My thoughts, emotions, conclusions:
Youngsters were very willing to cooperate. They were listening and actively participating even though the group was quite big. We learned that good communication is very important in all kinds of relationships. We agreed that body language and tone of voice can completely change the meaning and therefore understanding of the sentence. So we have to make sure that we are sending the right message. We were also talking about ego states and agreed that all three of them are important and not to be neglected.