Week 6 Ch 10: Improving communication climates

communication climate

refers to the emotional tone of a relationship between two or more individuals

confirming communication

a message that expresses caring or respect for another person

disconfirming communication

a message that expresses a lack of caring or respect for another person

impervious response

does not acknowledge the other person’s message - there is no reaction from a person with whom you are attempting to communicate

interrupting

repeatedly interrupting a speaker can be both discouraging and irritating

irrelevant response

a common unrelated to what the other person said

tangential response

conversational “take always”, where listeners don’t entirely ignore the speaker’s remarks but use them as a starting point for a shift to different topic

impersonal respsonses

refer to cliches and other statements that don’t truly respond to the speaker; ig. i’m having personal problems, i need to leave early… ah yes we all have problems

ambiguous response

have more than one meaning and leave the other party unsure of the responder’s position

incongruous responses

contain two contradictory messages, one of which is nonverbal; ig. i love you… i love you too (monotone)

disagreeing messages

between disconfirming and confirming communication; messages that say you’re wrong in one way or another

aggressiveness

is the most destructive way to disagree bc it attacks the self-concepts of other people to inflict psychological pain; demeans the worth of others through the use of name calling, put downs, sarcasm, taunting, yelling and badgering

complaining

happens when communicators aren’t prepared to argue but want to register dissatisfaction

argumentativeness

presenting defending positions on issues while attacking positions taken by others; associated with positive attributes such as enhanced self-concept and communicative competence

recognition

most fundamental way to confirm someone

acknowledgment

strong form of confirmation; listening

endorsement

means that you agree with another’s ideas or find them important; strongest type of confirming message bc it communicates valuing

spirals

once climates are formed, they take on lives of their own and grow in self-perpetuating

de-escalatory conflict spiral

a communication spiral in which the parties slowly lessen their dependence on one another, withdraw and become less invested in the relationship

defensiveness

the attempt to protect a presenting image a person believes is being attacked; process of protecting our presenting self

evaluative communication

messages in which the sender judges the receiver in some way; results in defensiveness; one form of this is “you” language

descriptive communication

messages that describe the speaker’s position without evaluating others; synonymous with" “i” language

controlling communication

occurs when the senders impose solutions on receivers with little regard for the receiver’s needs or interest; telling them what to do

problem orientation

a supportive style of communication; seek a solution that satisfies everyone’s needs; typified by “we” language

strategy

defence-arousing style of communication where speakers hide their ulterior motives; sender tries to manipulate or deceive a receiver; dishonesty and manipulation characterize this

spontaneity

simply means being honest; supportive communication behaviour; sender expresses message without any attempt to manipulate the receiver

neutrality

indifference; defence-arousing behaviour; sender expresses indifference toward receiver

empathy

helps rid communication of indifference; ability to project oneself onto another person’s point of view so as to experience the other’s thoughts and feelings

superiority

a defence-arousing communication; sender states or implies that the receiver is not worthy of respect; “i’m better than you”

equality

supportive communication; suggests that the sender regards the receiver as worthy of respect

certainty

an attitude behind messages that dogmatically implies that the speaker’s position is correct; the other person’s ideas are not worth considering; likely to generate a defensive response

provisionalism

supportive style; sender expresses a willingness to consider the other person’s position; open-minded

assertive message format

a strategy that helps deliver challenging messages by allowing you to speak with your mind in a clear yet respectful way without judging or dictating to others

behaviour, interpretation, feeling, consequences, intent

what are the 5 parts of assertive message?