Thank you very much for this session on the power of communication. The content resonated deeply with me. I’ve found that communication challenges, especially one-on-one conversations, are common issues within African culture.
We tend not to prioritize direct conversations (between two people) to solve our problems. Instead, we prefer to involve other people, often family, to resolve conflicts that could have been settled easily. We let small issues become major problems.
There are several reasons for this: pride, prejudice, or even fear of the consequences. These dynamics can lead to serious consequences, including divorce, family conflicts, and even tribal conflicts.
The method you presented, the BRAVE Framework, gave me concrete tools to know how to approach these situations. I recently found myself in a similar case. My supervisor called me out on a situation where I consider myself innocent. He had already drawn his own conclusions based on what someone else said. I took the situation badly and chose silence and introspection, which are often my safe havens in these moments. I’m afraid that keeping my emotions to myself without defending myself will also cause problems. But, as you said, I think it’s better to wait for the right moment and the right place to discuss it, following the BRAVE procedure.
As you said, the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our conversations. That’s why we need to be careful about how we speak. Some people are very sensitive and can be deeply hurt by a bad conversation or a simple comment. These negative interactions can have serious consequences: loss of confidence, a feeling of being rejected, a poor self-image… That’s why it is essential for us to keep learning how to communicate better, so we don’t break those who are already fragile.
Charmante Katungu (DRC)