Control dramas cause imbalance and drama in most of our relationships, so getting a handle on yours will assure that you live a more balanced life.

Dear Friends,

Dr. Jody Janati is a communications and leadership expert and teacher, and today she talks about her DailyOM course, Hold Your Own During Control Dramas. Simply put, control dramas are situations when someone uses defensive behavior to control and get what they want at the expense of another person. Dr. Jody brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this topic and provides you with a toolkit to deal with control dramas that you can use for a lifetime.

Course Overview
Control dramas are subtle tactics people use, oftentimes without being aware, to gain control. If you have felt frustrated or depleted after an interaction with someone, it is likely that you have encountered this behavior. In this powerful course, Dr. Jody Janati, will give step-by-step guidance and expert insights on how to identify and navigate these defensive actions in order to have more positive exchanges and outcomes. Communication techniques and mindfulness practices will help anyone set boundaries, stay calm and composed, and refrain from responses that don't serve them. By the end, you'll be able to have productive and healthy conversations in all areas of your life.
  • Receive a new lesson every day for 6 days (total of 6 lessons).
  • Have lifetime access to the course for reference whenever you want.
  • Select the amount you can afford, and get the same course as everyone.
  • If you are not 100% satisfied, you may request a refund.
How much do you want to pay?

$15$35$50

This is the total amount for all 6 lessons


Interview With Dr. Jody Janati

DailyOM: What motivated you to create this course?

Jody Janati: I had written my first course for DailyOM entitled "Protect Yourself from Control Dramas," and a large number of participants were left asking, "So now that I know how people use control dramas, what can I do to actually deal with another's control drama?" Even though there were methods offered at the end of that course which addressed this question, I decided to develop a course where one could solely learn to use effective conflict resolution strategies. The key was to make sure that they would really work. I have spent 25 years teaching and training in both college/university settings and in organizations across the US. I am an adjunct instructor in my state's college prison program and find that the environment there has taught me the most about control dramas and how we all unconsciously work to get what we need from others. Unfortunately, a large number of people do so in a toxic and often destructive way. Thus, the use of assertive communication, as a fair and reasonable response, became the focal point of this course. Most people desire more unity in their personal and professional communities, and most people want to like themselves in the mirror at the end of the day. Simply put, people are more alike than they are different. The ability to communicate well and work effectively with others on a common task is a major life skill. This common thread set the tone for the class.

DailyOM: Why do we often resort to defensive behavior or control?

JJ: "Energy flows where attention goes." In other words, you attract what you focus on. Unfortunately, when we are upset we focus on what we do not want and end up getting more of that very thing. We have the ability to redirect our focus of attention and move from a position of imbalance to balance during conflict. Awareness leads to change and this course highlights words, patterns, and phrases which add to drama and trigger others. When people do not know how to handle an intense interaction, they move to a passive, an aggressive, or a passive-aggressive response. Most of us react under pressure and can learn to shift from simply reacting to mindfully responding. I find it interesting that the words "reactive" and "creative" have the exact same letters in them and I have found a great meditation on those words alone. We can react in a destructive way to others, or we can learn to create the desired interaction and positive outcome we really want. The Chinese symbol for crisis is made up of two words superimposed. Those words are "danger" and "opportunity." When we engage in a difficult interaction, there are really only two ways it can go, and once we learn that we can shift the outcome to the positive, we find less drama in our lives and stop being defensive. Defensive positioning requires a great deal of effort and no one is able to hold that position over time. My work demonstrates over and over again that any form of resistance will add to the drama one experiences in life.

DailyOM: Please remind us how a control drama is defined.

JJ: A control drama occurs when people unconsciously try to "get their way" with others by making them pay attention to them, and then elicit a certain reaction from them to make themselves feel fulfilled. The positive feelings gained are won at the detriment of the other person. In other words, you get what you need or want at the expense of the other person feeling afraid, worthless, monitored, abandoned, obligated, etc. Most of us have a dominant control drama which we engage in automatically, without even realizing what we are doing and to what extent and expense. Your need to defend and engage in defensive responses with someone means you are caught in a control drama and you will thus "react." When you start to become aware of your dominant control drama and can recognize it in action, you can start to hone it and make better choices in your responses to others. Likewise, once you understand how others use control dramas to make you react, you can refrain from engaging in them and move on to more healthy resolution "responses." Control dramas cause imbalance and drama in most of our interpersonal relationships, so getting a handle on yours will assure that you live a more balanced life.

DailyOM: Can you give us a helpful scenario that illustrates how we lose ourselves to control drama, and then how we can regain and maintain our balance and presence?

JJ: Again, a control drama is an automatic, often unconscious response to an intense situation. People who lean in with an intimidator control drama, for example, will use responses where they end up getting stuck in certainty and they have to be right. They often use phrases like "I guarantee you" or "I never said that..." The amount of resistance they start to build with their dogmatic rhetoric quickly puts people on high alert. The good news is that drama-free communication starts with you. The way you talk to yourself, which is also known as intrapersonal communication or self-talk, directly impacts how you both behave and interact with others. When we learn to examine how our self-talk often creates more drama in our lives, we are more likely to change our behavior. When we learn to reframe our impulsive and often destructive thoughts and behaviors, we can choose a solutions-based response. In the case of an intimidator control drama, rather than having a tone of certainty and needing to be right, s/he might simply catch the incoming control drama and choose to ask a question rather than argue. They might choose to ask, "What do you mean?" That response would come off as neutral and not lead into the control drama, where they would end up denying, defending, counter attacking, getting emotional, or having to explain themselves. Like anyone, once an intimidator is more self-aware, the likelihood of having to hold their ground will lessen and the resistance will let up, creating less overall drama. At a minimum, any one of us can personally choose to vacate the scene when we feel our control drama kicking in. The key is to know what your control drama is, to feel it triggering and then to make a conscious decision to take control of it in real time.

DailyOM: Tell us the kind of journey students will go on in this course.

JJ: In this course you will learn 101 things to "say and do" during difficult interactions. The goal is to maintain your personal integrity through effective communication strategies that really work. Participants will learn step-by-step responses to transform difficult conversations. Multiple techniques are discussed to ensure you can find your voice, maintain wholeness, and stay unimpaired while engaging others during difficult interactions. On a personal level you will understand and apply strategies to defuse negative self-talk. On an interpersonal level you will learn strategies to effectively address and eliminate drama. The course focuses on minimizing resistance. Rather than swimming upstream and fighting the current, you will learn how to kick your feet up and coast downstream with the river. Further exploration into resistance will prove that the philosophies of Taoism often tether quite well with conflict resolution strategies. For example, when water is coming down a hill, it will yield to a boulder and wrap around it effortlessly. It will not try to overcome it and use resistance. While this might appear weak and unproductive to some, let me remind you that over time, water can carve a canyon.

DailyOM: Communication and boundary-setting are two important tools you teach. Tell us more about these tools and their importance in dealing with control drama.

JJ: Control dramas contain disconfirming messages that damage relationships. The goal of my teaching is to help people say what they mean, mean what they say, and shine when they say it. The ability to speak effectively is an asset in any private, public, or professional setting. I am passionate about helping people learn effective communication delivery techniques to ensure a message is delivered as intended. Most of us have been faced with a difficult interaction where our integrity has been compromised. I help people explore how to best communicate, often when functioning in the role of a group facilitator or leader. Leading with your assertive voice allows you to be clear and concise across diverse audiences, while maintaining a collaborative tone. We can all learn to balance how to structure a message that best suits our communication style.

How Does It Work?
Starting today, you will receive a new lesson every day for 6 days (total of 6 lessons). Each lesson is yours to keep and you'll be able to refer back to it whenever you want. And if you miss a lesson or are too busy to get to it that day, each lesson will conveniently remain in your account so you won't have to search for it when you're ready to get back to it.

Free Gift
As a free gift, when you sign up for this course, you will also receive the award-winning DailyOM inspiration newsletter which gives you daily inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day. We will also let you know about other courses and offers from DailyOM and Dr. Jody Janati that we think you might be interested in.

Get Started Now
We are offering this course with the option of selecting how much you want to pay. No matter how much you pay, you'll be getting the same course as everybody else. We simply trust that people are honest and will support the author of the course with whatever they can afford. And if you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.

How much do you want to pay?

$15$35$50

This is the total amount for all 6 lessons


Thank you, Dr. Jody! With over 101 communication tips and other tools, this course is packed full of simple yet powerful strategies to deal with and overcome control dramas. You will experience immediate results -- and relief. Until next time.

Be well,

DailyOM