Communication Skills for better working relationships
The lifeblood of any large organization is the quality of its communication, and the condition of its relationships. Transactional Analysis is an elegant tool for significantly improving both!
Communication theories can be complex and convoluted - e.g. "Who-says what-to whom-in what way-along what channel-and to what effect?" By contrast, Transactional Analysis provides a more streamlined model suggesting that with each communication (transaction) we are operating from a state of either being like a Parent, an Adult, or a Child.
Transactional Analysis is a very simple, yet powerful way of understanding communication and relationships. It is of immense value to teachers and anyone involved in the business of teaching and learning. Indeed, an awareness of T.A. would help teachers with all levels of student - and most staff meetings would benefit enormously.
If these states are habitual, and not appropriate to the situation, then they might be called 'games' or 'pastimes'. These represent patterns of behaviour that prevent good communication, healthy relationships - and can seriously undermine groups, teams and organizations.
Sometimes people try to fix the behaviours as they arise, rather than addressing the pattern - this would be like a fisherman always using a line that's too weak for the fish he wants to catch... and each time it snaps, buying another weak line. He is addressing the problems as they arise, but never the pattern of his behaviour. In this way, Transactional Analysis can quickly address causes, rather than just symptoms.
T.A. is not about blame, it is about responsibility.
When a student is behaving as the class-clown, she is accessing her 'Child' when you want her to operate from 'Adult'. When a member of staff is damning any new idea that arises in a staff meeting, they might be operating from 'Parent' (critical) when 'Adult' might be more appropriate - and they might be playing a game like "Yes, but..." Other staff, further down the corridor, might be playing "Ain't it awful..." instead of doing anything constructive.
T.A. looks at the things we say, and the games we play. It encourages us to take a more mature position.
The scope of this Training includes:
- Ego states - Parent, Adult, Child (with the nurturing, the critical, the playful, and the spoilt)
- Strokes and folks - and the hunger for recognition
- Four Life Positions - and what they mean (OK?)
- The Egogram - a map of me, my team, my organization
- Analysing the Transaction - complementary, crossed etc.
- Pastimes - the gearstick of life in neutral? - it might be very harmful!
- Games people play - scripts and patterns
- Implications for the 'classroom' - what now?
- Implications for the Organization - what now?
Summary: A powerful exploration of Transactional Analysis with particular reference to classroom management - and organizational health. Through group-work, illustrations and dialogues, staff will be encouraged to apply their understanding of T.A. to teaching and learning, and to their relationships with one another.
