Avoiding Conversational Chaos

Have you ever been in a conversation where you know what you want to convey, but the discussion becomes disorganized and unproductive…in other words, chaos? This problem can arise when we don’t have a clear goal or objective for the conversation. To avoid this, it’s essential to identify the purpose of the conversation beforehand.

Identifying the goal of the conversation can help to guide the discussion and ensure that it stays on track. However, it’s important to define the right goal. Are our set goals correct?

Maybe our goal of what we want to discuss is too broad, leading us to overlook the specific outcome we want to achieve through the conversation. This lack of clarity can cause the discussion to drift off-topic, hindering our ability to achieve our goal.

To overcome the problem of disorganized conversations, we need to train ourselves to ✨think logically. Here are two important points to keep in mind:

1. Give good reasons or understand the reason behind your argument. Making sure our reasons are logically correct to answer the goals is important when presenting an argument. If our reasons don’t make sense, it can weaken our argument and make it less effective. It’s essential to take the time to understand the reasoning behind our argument and ensure that our reasons are logically sound.
2. Avoid logical jumps. Logical jumps occur when we make assumptions or draw conclusions without sufficient evidence or reasoning. Sometimes, we may provide an answer that seems to address the goal but is actually too far off-topic. This can cause misunderstandings or false conclusions, leading to a disconnected conversation. It’s important to be open to feedback and willing to revise our thinking if new evidence or reasoning comes.

💡 Tips: When I’m in a conversation, I always try to recall our main goal if the discussion starts to drift off-topic. By keeping the conversation goal in mind, we can ensure that we stay on track and reach our desired outcome.

In summary, disorganized conversations can be frustrating and unproductive, it’s important to identify the purpose of the conversation beforehand. Defining the right goal is crucial, as having a broad goal can cause the conversation to drift off-topic. It’s essential to train ourselves to think logically by giving good reasons for our arguments and avoiding logical jumps. By doing that, I hope we can avoid conversational chaos.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy reading my reflection. Since you made it this far, I’ll introduce myself.

My name is Jufry Heryanta, and I’m a Product Designer at Tokopedia.

If you have any feedback or just want to chat with me, drop me a message at jufryheryanta@gmail.com or connect on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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