Relationship Analysis: My Friendship With Amie

Relationship Analysis Paper The relationship I chose to analyze for this project is my friendship with Amie. Our friendship has spanned over twenty years, making it my longest ongoing friendship. Together, we share many commonalities such as school, sense of humor, laid back personalities, and even our names; she is the one person I have come to rely on for emotional support throughout the years. Acquaintances of ours always joke that if one of us is doing something, the other was sure to follow. For instance, all six of our children were born within months of each other, we drive the same vehicles, laugh at the same jokes, and even our haircuts resemble each others. Our bond is effortless and has remained intact in view of the fact that we

Amie’s listening style is primarily relational, while mine is often analytical. During these visits, I noticed that we use both passive and active listening. During one meeting, I noticed that she had numerous activities going on at her home. At the same time, I needed her undivided attention to vent about things weighing on my mind, but I noticed she seemed to be on autopilot; she could hear my words, but she was not taking the time to evaluate and process the information to formulate an appropriate response. This seems to be a common occurrence for us, as one of us usually tends to a child’s needs during our visits. Even with the extended pauses and choppy conversation, I was able to have a clear understanding of her messages by regularly asking clarifying questions; however, I noticed when the level of external noise is high, she has problems concentrating on sending and receiving messages. Our overall level of effective listening is high when we are mentally and physically free to attend without the constant

Throughout our twenty years of friendship, there has been little to no conflict, until now. Recently, we have had various miscommunications and hurt feelings, one of which was a birthday party debacle. Lately, stress has consumed me, causing a low decrease in positivity about life. I envisioned my friend arranging a birthday celebration for me after the numerous chats between us about how great that would be; ultimately, I found out that she was planning to throw another friend a party on my birthday. Heartbroken would be the best word to describe how I felt. When we spoke on the 21st of September, her approach to the conflict was withdrawing altogether; this created a sense of resentment for me, and in turn, I too began to withdraw. She pretended as though nothing was wrong and avoided the topic. This left me with a sense that I was insignificant to her and affected my self-image, otherwise known as face. She exhibited self-face orientation by repeatedly putting the blame on another friend to uphold her image. As time went on, she began to initiate conversation about the conflict in a more accommodating conflict management style, while I began to lean towards a more collaborating style. For the first time, we were faced with conflict without the knowledge of how to appropriately manage it. Together, we came to a solution that