Divergent vs convergent responses in conversations

During this week's SPHY310 workshop with 3rd year speech pathology students the central discussions were around difficult communication scenarios. One student shared some of her personal experience - she was aware that she would try and search for "the perfect response" during simulation role play and also when on placement. This is an almost impossible task, especially when improvising a conversation. It also takes more time to generate a response because the brain is creating, then editing, then rejecting a series of possible answers. This creates gaps in the flow of conversation and can make the partner/client feel they are not being heard or acknowledged in a usual way.

We took this self-reflection and linked it back the the divergent vs convergent thinking models in the workshop. The student was encouraged to embrace a (divergent) range of responses and combine this with active listening rather than taking time and placing pressure on themselves to be "perfect" with every response. Searching for "the perfect response" is a convergent modality of thinking whereas divergent thinking leads to vibrant and authentic sharing of information.