What is the theory behind this ‘I’ statements worksheet?

An ‘I’ statement is a communication strategy that is meant to minimize interpersonal conflict by expressing the speaker’s feelings and thoughts rather than blaming the message recipient.  It not only helps to clearly communicate how their actions have affected you but also prevents a defensive reaction from the opposite end that could potentially escalate the issue instead of solving it. 

How will the worksheet help?

The worksheet will help you learn how to form and use ‘I’ statements as one of The strategies for conflict resolution in interpersonal relationships. You can benefit from ‘I’ statements in personal as well as professional settings.

How to use the worksheet?

Review the four parts of ‘I’ statements with the client, and then instruct them to write how they would say these statements in different personal and professional real-life situations, which have been given below for practice.

‘I’ statements worksheet

Practice 

Instructions: Read each real-life situation and write how you would use an ‘I’ statement.

1. A son habitually leaves a mess in his room for his working mother to clean up.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. A man becomes angry when the dry cleaner returns his clothes with minor stains.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. A woman is frustrated that she has to do her colleague’s share of work in team projects.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. A wife wants her husband to help with their baby instead of playing video games

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

References

Biesen J.N., Schooler D.E. & Smith D.A. (2016) What a difference a pronoun makes: i/we versus you/me and worried couples’ perceptions of their interaction quality. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 35(2),180-205. 

Rogers et al. (2018). I understand you feel that way, but I feel this way: the benefits of I-language and communicating perspective during conflict. PeerJ 6:e4831.

You can download this worksheet here.