Tone and Content and the Authentic Self

Congruency of tone and content in statements is an area that we're exploring during our Monday meetings.

The SAVI literature clearly indicates that congruency of tone and content is a major consideration within the SAVI framework. Often the two are not aligned. For example, words may be stated in 'green' or 'yellow' statements, while tone communicates 'red'.

As we talk about our experiences with SAVI, our small group discussion often returns to the importance of congruency between the content of a statement and the tone with which the statement is made.

This last Monday we took things one step further when we considered whether incongruity of tone and content could function, in fact, as a form of 'acting out'.

This discussion led us to ideas on 'authenticity'. Is the alignment of tone and content a manifestation of 'authenticity'? In other words, when tone and content are congruent, is the indivdiual closer to his or her authentic self. And when tone and content are not aligned, has the authentic self been lost?