Setting Context
Learning to set good, appropriate, strong, clear context for conversations and shared experiences is one of the most powerful and foundational components of authentic relating.
You can think of context like the rules of a game. Setting good, clear context ensures that all participants of a given context are playing by the same rules of the game, and that each player knows the rules clearly and comprehensively. Loose or vague context leads to confusion, assumptions, and potential for chaos, just as sloppy or erratic rules of game can lead to confused or chaotic play.
An Authentic Relating Testimony: ART Co-founder Ryel Kestano
I’d been dreading this conversation for days. I stood on the front porch for a moment, feeling the knot in my stomach and racing pulse in my temples. My mind was gripped with pinballing thoughts, voices yelling at me to do this or say that – “Just stay calm,” said one. “Don’t let her push you around!” said another. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door and went inside, and felt my body actively preparing for battle.
