more on compassionate emailing and texting

So let's suppose you're angry and you feel you HAVE to communicate very soon, and the phone is not an option. The best tip is: 

First call a friend and get a good listening to:

The friend should be someone who:
- listens first
- won't join in with your negative perceptions of the person concerned, but will instead help you get in touch with your unmet needs  
- ideally someone who is skilled in empathic listening 
- with this friend:

• Try to work out what needs of yours you are trying to meet by sending whatever message you now want to send - you may find that you can better meet the need in another way.
• Check out the comments after this post for an example.
• It's good to have an list of empathy friends to call or Skype i.e. people who have agreed to offer this support to you. People often agree to support each other in this way, but this is optional, especially for beginners.

Photo credit: HMV