Kevin FitzMaurice did the world of communication and its variety of dysfunctions a great service when he assembled the matrix depicted in this poster.

Down the left hand side you’ll see the emotional reactions within a communication from that of empathy in which the listener feels and identifies with what the speaker is saying to narcissistic in which the person has no emotional bonding with the person whatsoever and is truly and only self-focused.

Across the top are the behavioral reactions within a communication from passive to where there is no reaction to the communication to aggressive in which the listener attempts to dominate the speaker into submission.

Where the behavioral and the emotional intersect within the body of the matrix you’ll read the resultant observable behaviors that can help identify exactly what is happening within what can be quite a confusing scenario.  Therein lies the greatest value of this matrix.  It can serve as a roadmap to help you better understand what is happening to you within any given series of communications – guiding you to a way out of the dysfunction.

Thank you Kevin for the gift of this matrix.

Categories: Communications, Conflict Management, Listening