[The Key to Human Relationships!] What are Rogers' Three Principles?

Hello!
I am Hikaru Kawae!

With the start of the new fiscal year, many of you are likely encountering new people, not only outside the company through project handovers and meetings with new clients, but also within the company due to departmental transfers.
Some people give a good impression just by saying hello, while others might seem a bit difficult to approach.

In this article, I will introduce "Rogers' Three Principles," a communication tip common to people who make a good impression.

1. About Rogers' Three Principles

Rogers' Three Principles is a theory proposed by the American psychologist Carl Rogers.
It is considered to play an important role in communication with others, and specifically includes three main elements.

(1) Empathic Understanding

Empathic understanding refers to empathizing with the other person's position and emotions, and understanding their feelings.
For example, in sales activities, it is said that what makes a good salesperson is not how they speak, but their listening skills.
Even when introducing your company's products, first grasping what challenges the other party is currently facing and what kind of products or services they need is the first step toward understanding and empathizing from their perspective.

(2) Unconditional Positive Regard

Unconditional positive regard is about whether you can fully accept the other person's thoughts without criticizing or judging them based on your own values or preconceptions.

When negative emotions arise within you, you need to be especially conscious of the reaction you show to the other person.

For example, instead of dismissing a first-year employee's opinion just because they are new and simply pushing your own requests, showing positive interest in the challenges and issues that only a new employee would notice, and responding affirmatively rather than critically, will help the new employee avoid bottling up their opinions and lead to smoother communication within the team.

(3) Congruence

Congruence is whether the words you speak match your actions.

Even if you speak beautiful words or talk about grand goals, if your actions toward self-realization are not visible—such as not arriving on time for appointments, not starting on time, not meeting deadlines, or failing to deliver on basic tasks or performance evaluations—it becomes quite difficult to gain trust from those around you.

By practicing congruence, you can clarify your own goals and strengthen your relationships with those around you.

2. Summary

In this article, I introduced the communication tip "Rogers' Three Principles."
Why not try applying these to build relationships with people around you, as well as to improve your own reliability and personal growth?



That is all.
Hikaru Kawae