EDUCATION PARTNER
The Process Communication Model. Why it works. Why I love it.
In future editions of this Magazine we will be featuring stories about the people who deliver Process Communication Model courses to clubs and businesses in Australia and overseas.
The people you will read about are from a wide range of backgrounds- we hope you enjoy their stories.
In this edition we feature Dr. Elizabeth Benton.
Elizabeth has a background in clinical psychology and is a Certified PCM Facilitator. She is is the mother of an active toddler, writes Children’ s Literature and is studying French and German in her spare time!
PCM has become a major focus of her life and Elizabeth delivers seminars, Executive Coaching and Keynote presentations on this topic.
Elizabeth is an associate of the Webster PCM team which has a preferred supplier partnership with the CMAA.
IQ 40
When you think back to those key moments in your life that didn’ t quite go to plan, can you pinpoint an underlying theme? Is there one commonality that impinges your success and takes you on the scenic route inadvertently?
For me, and for many others, the one annoying and repeating hiccup in life’ s path has been miscommunication. Sometimes the cogs turn seamlessly. There is no effort required to find your message recipient’ s wave length and hold them in that space. But the flip side of that is that there are certain people who we all bump up into that don’ t quite fit with our way of communicating. A lovely university lecturer of mine once described these people( or clients), as“ sandpaper people”, sent here to rub us up the wrong way and over time, polish us smooth!
Long after my university days of studying Psychology, that analogy keeps coming back to me. Why is it that we just don’ t“ click” with some people? They aren’ t necessarily that different from us, and seem to be decent people, but there is just something about them …
My journey to find the answer to communication has involved going down many winding roads. On moments of reflection I often wonder if the choice of a Psychology degree was purely to answer the question of“ What is communication, and how can we effectively communicate with every walk of mankind on this planet?” Unfortunately, after nearly a decade of formal study I was left still searching.
Fast forward a few years and I was working in a role that involved the recruitment and training of new staff. As a Psychologist who had opted down the clinical pathway( that is, diagnosing and treating mental illness), I didn’ t feel at all equipped to be selecting candidates for positions with any real competence. So I researched. And then researched some more.
Finding PCM My boss at the time was an Anaesthetist who was certified in PCM. She encouraged me to read a primer book written by Andrea Naef and Elisabeth Feuersenger. I literally couldn’ t put it down. By the end of that day I sat down with my boss and asked for more information. This was the first theory of communication that resonated with me. It was so beautiful in its simplicity. I read more PCM books. I read the science behind the model. I was hooked.
Less than a year after reading that first book on PCM, I was a certified provider and I haven’ t looked back. There will never be another new patient for me. I am done with private practice. My focus now is on raising awareness as to what effective communication is, and teaching corporations and individuals how to kick more goals when they communicate.
There is Beauty in Distress What I love about PCM is the clarity of our behaviours both in a positive and negative head-space. When things are ticking along nicely and both people in the dialogue are in OK-OK space( that is, I’ m ok – You’ re ok), effective communication seems to flow freely and without effort. However, very quickly distress can enter the mix with either or both people in that interaction shifting to a different perspective of OK-Not OK( I’ m OK – You’ re not ok), or Not OK – OK( I’ m not OK – You’ re OK). These perspectives colour our entire sense of self and are termed“ ego states”. Our inward and outward behaviours are altered by these ego states and things can go downhill very quickly if an invitation out of distress isn’ t accepted.