Resolving Interpersonal Conflict: Auntie Anne VS (not so famous) Amos

(Loosely based on a true story)

Auntie Anne has been working as a promoter at Robinson’s for 15 years. Amos just joined the company two months ago and paired with Auntie Anne to promote the same brand. Since day one, Auntie Anne has been very welcoming and helpful towards Amos.

Being a single parent and due to the fact that her only son is away studying in Australia, Auntie Anne naturally adopts a very motherly attitude towards Amos. For example, she would always bring pretzels for him before work. She also became quite protective of him, defending him from the boss when he makes mistakes and covering for him.

Although very thankful for all the kindness, Amos feels uncomfortable with the way Auntie Anne treats him. Behind her back, some of the other promoters teased him about it, calling him ‘Auntie’s Boy’. Amos feels that his reputation with the boss is also affected because of this. He believes that Auntie Anne is hindering his chance to prove himself competently. On top of that, Auntie Anne is always around him and this makes him feel that he does not have the opportunity to mingle and talk to the other promoters, in particular Angela whom he has a crush on.

One day, Auntie Anne overheard Amos talking with Angela about him not wanting to work with his partner. However, Amos clearly does not want to hurt Auntie Anne’s feelings after all that she has done for him.

What do you think Amos should do about his dilemma? What should Auntie Anne do after overhearing the conversation? Lastly, should Angela take any action?

Why developing effective communication skills is important for me…

I believe that communication is a skill which we can never truly finish learning as there are limitless situations that we may encounter in our lifetime. Hence, it is good to learn as much as possible to improve ourselves. As a final year student graduating soon, the main reason for developing effective communication skills is to find a job I want and prepare myself for the working environment.

This is really important for me as my results are not outstanding! Thus, I need all the advantage I can get through non-academic means such as being able to communicate more confidently and effectively than others. My aim is to promote myself in the best way possible and convince people of the full potential that I have to offer through my resume and cover letters which highlight my credentials. For the interview, it would be useful to learn skills in knowing the proper way to act and picking up the body language of the interviewers as well as responding in the proper way.

On top of that, effective communication is also applicable to all aspects of life. For example tricky situations like interacting with your girlfriend’s parents, handling relationships and avoiding conflicts, communicating as a leader and as a follower, as a buyer and as a seller, as a parent to a child. I think that I will be able to enjoy daily interactions more by learning to communicate effectively and help me become a better, more confident and happier person.