A three-part summer workshop series held at the BFDC offices in Kennedy Town. Participants may choose to attend all three sessions, or individual sessions.
Saturday, June 20, June 27 and July 4 from 1:00pm – 2:30pm
This workshop is suitable for couples and individuals who are interested in understanding more about effective communication in relationships.
Poor or ineffective communication in relationships can weaken bonds, create stress, and even lead to the relationship ending. Conversely, good communication skills make partners feel heard, respected and valued. Understanding how to listen and speak effectively to each other, including how to navigate conflict and compromise, are key to building healthy, more fulfilling relationships.
In this interactive workshop series, Dr. Ken Fung will speak about the following topics, provide enlightening case studies, and lead engaging discussions with all participants.
Session 1: Essentials of Communication
What exactly is communication? Why does communication with time, but become more vulnerable? What position and role does it have in a relationship? More importantly, how can we communicate with the other party and establish a healthier and more effective relationship? Dr. Fung will talk about the two most basic units of communication, the speaker and the listener, and explain how they they lend to healthy communication. Healthy communication, in turn, makes navigating difficult situations less fraught and builds a solid relationship in a long run.
Session 2: Healthy Conflict
Disagreements are inevitable – there are two people in a couple! There are also times when you simply do not want to be convinced or give way, turning conflict into battles of emotion, rather than reason. What is crucial is to better manage the emotions in those situations and hence better cope with the conflicts. What are some of the “toxins” in communication that could potentially drive conflicts to an even more heated place, and how can they make relationships run into walls? What strategies can we use instead to have more positive outcomes from conflict?
Session 3: The Role of Compromise
Compromise is one of the useful ways to navigate individual differences between couples and reach an agreement. But what is compromise and why is it essential in building a healthy relationship? How can couples reach a compromise without either party feeling unheard, undervalued or unimportant?
In each of the interactive sessions, participants are encouraged to bring in and share real-life scenarios. Dr. Fung will lead the group, without judgement, in exploring how these scenarios may have been approached in different ways, for different outcomes.
