‘Everyday life is our first place of formation. The Spirit educates us and guides us through the realities of life. He forms us through the life of the human and Christian communities to which we belong, particularly through our involvement with others’. Rule of Life article 39 paragraphs 2
The annual mini-session for the young people of the vice-province of Burkina Faso was held from 28 to 31 October. The aim of the session was to help us to be more successful in communicating in our daily lives through our interpersonal relationships of transmitting or receiving information.
Sister Christine DIDJA, who led this session, also gave us the benefit of her availability.
From this time of reflection, we learned that successful communication requires knowing when to approach the other person, having a real presence of mind during the conversation, and being able to live the attitudes of inner silence and truthfulness towards oneself.
Talking about the components of emphatic communication, we’ve come up with a number of fairly strong guidelines: be relaxed and present, speak briefly, slowly, warmly and listen attentively, express consideration and be sensitive to non-verbal signals, increase positivity. However, communication has its challenges and we realised that most of the time we limit our communication to information Then we talked about the different types of communication: verbal communication, which takes the form of oral, written and bodily expression, and sign language or coded language, a type of communication influenced by non-verbal signals. Non-verbal communication contains messages intended for others, whether in the form of a physical attitude or behaviour such as keeping quiet. We have also mentioned visual communication, which consists of a range of information techniques using images, illustrations, and graphics to help people who only understand messages in this way. There are also barriers to good interpersonal understanding: noise, cultural and generational differences, fear or contempt of the other person, failure to listen, fear of silence, humiliation, lack of clarity, negative comments. Obstacles are inevitable, but the first step in overcoming them is to observe them carefully, identify and understand them, and then foster a culture of communication.
The session took place in a climate of listening and interest in the subject of communication in everyday life. May your moral and spiritual support help us to bear witness to this in all our relationships.
Sister YAMEOGO Kiswendsida Edith, DHS. Published on 2 April 2025
