SAVI Responses to Non-SAVI Group Situations

So, when you are in a meeting, say at work, and communication settles into the red light area, what do you do?

Co-workers unfamiliar with SAVI are most likely to laugh you out of the office if you say something like, "My opinion is that there's too much 'red light' communication taking place for us to be productive."

That you'll be laughed at is, I realize, a 'negative predication'; however, it's unlikely that anyone will say, "Hey! 'Red light' communication sounds interesting! Tell us more!" (which is another negative prediction).

When communication within a non-SAVI group is stalled in the 'red light' area, I tend to resort to a silent, with-holding, analytical, and, in reality, a 'judgement' position. Knowing that, I'm interested in strategies on how to try something different. And I'm open to suggestions!

Multi-layered Statements

In our Monday night group the idea of multi-layered statements was presented.

We talked about how a statement could contain content from more than one area of the grid. Take, for example, "I don't really like science fiction movies, but I think we should go anyway because it's tradition for us to see a movie after Thanksgiving dinner."

'Opinion' and 'proposal' are both contained in the same statement. And if the statement were made following a heated debate about whether holiday rituals are important or not, the whole thing might actually take on a tone of 'sarcasm' if the speaker were, in fact, fed up with holiday routines.

Statements are not always one-dimensional. They can be quite complex, representing more than one area in the grid depending on content and tone on delivery.

Where Would You Go on the Grid?

Jim writes:

I wonder if you’ve run into this obscuring red light behavior. For me, it doesn’t seem to fit under the category labels, and I’m not sure that it necessarily has to for me to try using the grid to work it out.

It was the “inadequate response” to a direct question. An answer without information. If I were to leave the SAVI grid and look for intention, I would go straight to labeling it passive aggressive. But what I really like about SAVI is getting some distance from attributing intention. If I go that way I feel cornered. I find the choices are only to either walk away, or confront, or ask another question (negative prediction) to which I would only get another inadequate response.

My question to the group is “where would YOU go on the grid, what would you try in order to avoid an impasse and create flow on information in this crucial communication”? where is the information in this behavior?
I thought it would be interesting for group members to describe what they’ve come up against like that and what they’ve tried to do with it. I think we’d come up with a lot of scenarios, not all having the same approach, or outcome.

The Shelf Life of SAVI

Dr. Byram talked about the shelf-life of SAVI training. How has the SAVI shelf-life been for you?

I have been more aware of conversation patterns throughout the week. As an administrator at a public high school, many people spend a lot of time explaining to me each day - students, teachers, parents. And there are many conversations I'm involved with on a weekly basis (lots of them emotionally charged) where my role is to listen, and suggest course of action.

Without overtly prompting myself, I've been pleased to find myself thinking things like, "Boy, there's a lot of 'red' conversation going on here", or "It would be good to move this conversation out of facts and opinion, and get some 'green' communication going".

Without stretching to fabricate some connection, I can authentically report that this last week I've been much more aware of the communication I'm either directly or indirectly a part of.

Anyone else...

The Function of 'Red Light' Behavior

The 'red light' behavior on the SAVI grid is defined as "avoidance behavior in relationship to the goal of communication which is information transfer" in Autobiography of a Theory (pg. 49). Yet, at the workshop this weekend we talked about the function of 'red light' behavior bringing information into the system. So, I'm curious as to whether or not 'red light' behavior is behavior to move away from at all costs, or can it, in fact, serve a productive function in certain contexts? Anyone else...