Conversation!

April 15th, 2023| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Yeah, we all have our smartphones and our little thumbs are texting away all the time, at work, in class, during church, in the bathroom, at the grocery store, and any other place you can think of. So we might tell ourselves that we’re getting enough social interaction, maintaining adequate interpersonal relationships. We might. But we’d be wrong. At least as far as the consequences of such interactions are concerned.

Wanna have a happier state of mind and increased sense of wellbeing? Lower your stress? You gotta talk with a friend at least once a day.

So declareth a group of researchers from the University of Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, University of Nevada, and West Virginia University, in “Quality Conversation Can Increase Daily Well-Being,” published in January in Communication Research.

The seven categories of communication they looked at were catching up, meaningful talk, joking around, showing care, listening, valuing others and their opinions, and offering sincere compliments. Over 900 study participants from five university campuses—before, during and after pandemic lockdowns—were directed to engage in one of these seven communication behaviors on a single day, then report back that night about their feelings of stress, connection, anxiety, well-being, loneliness and the quality of their day.

And the bottom line: Those who had such conversations felt better at the end of the day.

The authors concluded:

Results suggest that engaging in as little as one communication behavior with one friend in a day can improve daily well-being.”

Said lead author, Dr. Jeffrey Hall, Professor of Communication Studies at University of Kansas:

It didn’t matter which of these quality conversations someone had. The very act of intentionally reaching out to a friend in one of these ways was what mattered most. One of the take-home messages of this study is that there are many paths toward the same goal.”

And did quantity or quality of these interactions matter?

Hall again:

There’s a lot of good research that says the number of interactions you have as well as the quality of interactions are both associated with being a less lonely, happier and more connected person. While the project did find that just one conversation is enough to promote well-being, it’s vital to mention that more is better. Participants who had more quality conversations had better days. This means the more that you listened to your friends, the more that you showed care, the more that you took time to value others’ opinions, the better you felt at the end of the day.”

Crucially, the research also indicated that high quality face-to-face communication has a closer relationship to well-being than electronic or social media contact.

And that anyone who makes time for high-quality conversation can improve their well-being.

Hall:

We can change how we feel on any given day through communication. Just once is all it takes.”

The authors suggest that conversations help wellbeing by creating a sense of belonging, vital for us humans, social creatures.

Good stuff. But I have a better idea: Have a conversation with God!

Therefore, let everyone who is devout pray to You
at a time when [He is] found.
Surely in a flood of great waters
they will not draw near to him.
You are a hiding place to me;
from distress You preserve me;
with shouts of salvation You surround me.
Psalm 32:6–7

The one who hears prayer—
unto You all flesh comes.
Psalm 65:2

Blessed be God,
who has not turned aside my prayer
or His lovingkindness from me.
Psalm 66:20

Talk to God … and improve your wellbeing!

SOURCE: Study Finds; Communication Research