Top Tips on Effective Communication from Our Sister Chat With Sister Marie McKenna, SLW, LCSW
Top Tips on Effective Communication from Our Sister Chat With Sister Marie McKenna
Written by Kim Hall, Communications Coordinator
“There are 3 “H’s”: holiness includes recognition of our humanity that leads us to humility.” -Sister Marie McKenna, featured guest for SLW’s March Sister Chat
Our first Sister Chat on March 25th, with SLW’s Marie McKenna, SLW, LCSW, was very informative. The Chat was held via the Zoom platform and the topic was “Effective Communication.” Sister Marie McKenna is a licensed social worker finishing up her doctorate and is also trained in dispute resolution. She is an immigrant from Canada.
Here are some of her top tips from the Chat:
We are all influenced by what we see, hear, and experience. We need to pay attention to other’s cues. Communicating with compassion is a very effective way to communicate. Be curious about things that are said and questions asked.
Be aware of different levels of importance. How are our bodies reacting to situations? What is our “temperature” to these situations. Are we “hot” and angry or “cool” and calm. Does the “temperature” match the situation? Pay attention to your body’s cues. An example is if a child runs into the street that is a high level of importance and it must be dealt with immediately to hopefully get the child out of danger. A lower-level of importance would be a family member making a mess without cleaning it up.
We all need to have coping skills on how to deal with uncomfortable situations. A major pitfall of effective communication is not paying attention to cues of whether a conversation should continue or end. If you are ever at a point of a conversation with finger-pointing (real or figuratively) that is a good sign to get your emotions in check. The finger-pointer should take a break and regroup their thoughts and emotions and calm down.
Effective Communication is a “call” that can embody purpose and focus. We need to be open to finding “our calls” in life. We have choices on accepting these “calls” or not.
If you weren’t able to join the session, or had to sign off early, you can click here to view a recording of our conversation.
More on our Sister Chats event Series
Every month we gather for an intimate 45 minute discussion with a SLW Sister to talk about their ministry, service, life experiences, and the work that they are passionate about. These moderated discussions are followed by an open Q&A with our event attendees.
Register for Future Sister Chats:
Click here to register for our April 29th Sister Chat with Sisters Kris Vorenkamp and Mary Ann Zrust on their Experiences Working with Immigrants.
Click here to register for our May 27th Sister Chat with Sister Joanne Fedewa on her experiences Building A Church in Flint, Michigan.
Click here to register for our June 24th Sister Chat with Sister Colette Fahrner on Care of Our Common Home (Environmentalism).
Click here to register for our July 29th Sister Chat with Sister Mary Nicholas Eiden on Dismantling Racism Care of the Earth, and Immigration Reform.
Click here to register for our August 26th Sister Chat with Georgene Schumacher on her ministry and service experiences with St Vincent de Paul at St Teresa & Bridget Parish.