Does the environment matter?

As I sit at the camp fire I can't help but wonder about the effect the environment has on our communication style. At home my two teenagers bicker and argue constantly, but out here under the star they act almost as a team and seem to be on the same conversational wavelength. And so I wonder why.

Do we communicate differently outside our natural environment? I think we do. How we communicate at home, at work, during play can vary quite a bit. So which is "real"? Or are they all real?

I've learned accepted ways to communicate at work, ways that I would never think to use with friends. And at home I am again a different person, so can these communication styles work in tandem with each other? I think they can, even must work in tandem if we want to be successful in all areas of our lives. Jokes told during play time are not always appropriate at work, and the dictorial attitude I have at home would get me in trouble with friends. Yet each are necessary in their own time and place; so I think the key is to understand that the environment does indeed affect how and why we communicate and to use the appropriate style at the appropriate time.

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