Essay About Conflict Between Friends

Maria, Rosa and I are long-time friends, Maria had a birthday party for Rosa, I told them that I was not going to be going to the party because I will be out of town. But at the time that I told them, they was talking to each other about what was needed for the party and not paying any attention to me. So, I didn’t show up for Rosa’s party. Maria and Rosa got an attitude towards me, it seems like they didn’t want to speak to me or didn’t want me around. I stated noticing that anytime I say something they would ignore me then I wondered if our friendship came to a halt. This went on for like a week, so I started calling them and I stopped hanging around the same place they did. Maria called me one day wanting to know what was wrong with me and why I don’t

I told Maria and Rosa that they were being so unreasonable by keeping quiet and just thinking that I didn’t want to show up. At the end we stayed friends, but it is not the same like before because the trust is not there. This illustrates how easily a simple misunderstanding can escalate into a conflict between friends. Good friends are expected to be reliable, willing to listen, caring and supportive. Friends should be able to work through what ever problems no matter what. Two parts to effective communication involves: presenting information and active listening. Without both, resolving conflict is impossible, as is maintaining your friendships. Practice these skills: Think before speaking. Know exactly what message you want to convey. Make sure your friend has your full attention and understands your meaning. Stay focused on the matter at hand, be clear and precise. Listen to yourself speak. This is just to show that Maria and Rosa had poor listening skills.

Sources:
Resolving Conflict: How to Turn Conflict In Cooperation by Wendy Grant. Element, 1997.
Resolving Conflict with Others and Within Yourself by Gini Graham Scott, PhD. New Harbinger Publications,