The Conflict between Leo and Lori

COMMUNICATION IN CONFLICT
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The Conflict between Leo and Lori
During conversations, there is a possibility that there is a triggering event at hand being the subject matter of the discussion (Wilmot & Hocker, 2010). The individuals conversing usually have something they are sharing, discussing or arguing about. The case of Leo and Lori, the conversation is about a party that both of them attended. At the start of the conversation, Leo brags about how the party was a blast. On the other hand, Leo does not acknowledge this as he argues that he was not treated right Leo in front of his friends. Thus, the triggering event that brings the parties in mutual awareness in the heated conversation is about if the party was actually good. Leo thinks that the party was the best because it can be noticed that he danced with at least seventeen women during the party. Lori, in contrast, tends to think that the party was not good for him as Leo tried to hurt him by humiliating him before friends and tried to control him in everything he did as if he was his father. In essence, the heated discussion between Leo and Lori is inclined towards how the party was in their own views and why it had to happen that way. This is why the conversation changes course and is now leaned to personal and family issues towards the end.
In the heated conversation between Leo and Lori, there are different perceptions that merge out in relation to the conflict (Wilmot & Hocker, 2010). First of all, Leo perceives that Lori argues and disagrees with him purposely to start a fight. His discernment is that the conflict is negatively inclined and aimed at sparking a fight. He views Lori as an aggressive man. On the other hand, Lori believes that the conflict is positive. He asserts that the conversation is not a fight but a discussion. Besides, he insists that he hardly went for the conflict. Thus, the different perceptions are that, Leo deems it as negative and aimed at a destructive objective. On the converse, Lori deems the conversation as positive and simply as a discussion to arrive at a common conclusion. He is after being treated well by Leo and not after a fight. All this can be evidently seen in the conversation. Leo wonders why if sometimes Lori starts these conflicts on purpose. Contrastingly, Leo denies that the conflict is aimed at a fight and hardly went for it. With the above statements, one can easily determine the perception each party has towards the conflict.
In any conversation, there exist certain goals that pertain to individuals and what they are after. According to Wilmot & Hocker, (2010), this tends to determine the kind of end result the parties conversing are after. In the case of Leo and Lori, each ahs different views of what the other`s goals are. First of all, Leo thinks that Lori aims at sparking a fight between the two in the conflict. In a statement he points towards Lori, he asserts that, "… Sometimes I wonder whether you don't start these fights on purpose…" This shows that Leo thinks that Lori`s goal is to start up the conflict in order to spark up a fight. On the other hand, Lori thinks that Leo is aimed at humiliating him and treating him badly most of the time. Even though Leo thinks he is offering a helping hand, Lori sees it as a motive to harass him and humiliate his efforts to live a free life. He goes ahead to assert that, "…You act like you're my father or something. You have this need to control me or put me down…" Thus, he thinks that Leo is after controlling him and putting him down at all times they are together. In their own words, it is clear that the aims and goals of the parties are quite dissimilar from the individual goals. For instance, Leo thinks that he always tries to help Lori in his endeavors. He says that, "…I wasn't trying to hurt you. You said you were on a diet, and I'm just to help you stick to it…" Lori, on the converse also thinks that he was trying to help Leo. This shows how diverse the two parties are when it comes to their perceived goals.
In the case of Leo and Lori, each party tries to show off and emphasize on how they help each other. On the other hand, each party also tries to accuse t...