1. Communication Climate
What is Communication Climate?
How Communication Climates Develop
Creating Positive Climates
Transforming Negative Climates

2. I. Communication Climate: Defined
A communication climate is the social tone of a relationship.
It’s the way people feel about each other AS they carry out activities.
Climates can change over time, so it’s imp. To understand them, so we can change ours if not positive enough.

3. II. How Climates Develop
The degree to which people see themselves as valued determines the climate.
It’s not content as much as HOW we speak & act.
We react positively to confirming messages which convey value. (“You matter”, “Your ideas matter”, etc.)
<In marriage, it’s the best predictor of satisfaction.>
We react negatively to disconfirming messages which signal a lack of regard. Deciding not speaking to a person= disconfirmation. (“I don’t like you <or your ideas>”, “You don’t exist”, You’re not important ”, “I don’t care”, etc.)
It’s the receiver who decides if messages are confirming or not.

4. II. How Climates Develop cont.
A. Levels of Confirming Messages-
1. Confirming (agreeing) =3 types
a. Recognition: The most basic form, if perceived as avoiding contact or taking too long to respond, behavior may feel like disconfirmation, whether or not intended Reflective listening helps.
b. Acknowledgment: Stronger than recognition, listening=most common form; silently, attentively paying attention to another’s words matters!
c. Endorsement: Highest valuing= agreeing (even partially) or admitting the other’s importance (praising)
Positive nonverbal signals while other is speaking can confirm;
Hugs & embraces also endorse.

5. II. How Climates Develop cont.
A. 2. Disagreeing messages= “You’re wrong.” (3 types)
a. Argumentativeness: presenting /defending positions on issues while only attacking issues, not persons. Includes supportive, affirming delivery. It can be constructive.
b. Complaining: When not prepared to argue issues, but want to let know you are dissatisfied.
- Behavioral complaints are better than personal ones! (Can change behavior, so describe it rather than attack personality.)
c. Aggressiveness: The most destructive disagreement, it attacks self-concept to inflict emotional pain. It demeans their worth; winning at their expense; it’s obviously negative with serious consequences:
- violence, delinquency, depression, less productive in workplace (win-lose not win-win) or any other place.

6. II. How Climates Develop, cont.
A. 3. Disconfirming messages: subtler than disagreeing ones, but potentially more damaging;
* 7 responses. (a pattern of them = negative climate IF receiver’s perception thinks it creates defensiveness)
a. Impervious: intentionally ignoring an attempt to V or NV communicate. Ignoring by significant other is damaging; cruelest punishment = ignore
b. Interrupting: 1 persons beginning to speak
before the other is through
c. Irrelevant: making comments unrelated to what the other was just saying

7. II. How Climates Develop, cont.
A Disconfirming cont.
d. Tangential: uses other person’s message to steer talk in a new direction
Tangential SHIFT-abrupt change in conversation
Tangential DRIFT-token connection to subject then a subject change
e. Impersonal : speaker never interacts on personal level
- “My grandmother died last night.” “We all have problems.”
- Responses are intellectual, general, or impersonal
f. Ambiguous: message has more than 1 meaning
g. Incongruous: has verbal & NV messages that seem to contradict (Sure, I’m happy.” w/ unhappy nonverbal)

8. II. How Climates Develop, cont.
B. Defensiveness
1. Defined: Process of protecting your presenting self, or face, from face-threatening acts.
a. It’s the most predictable reaction to hostile or indifferent messages
b. We project diff. selves to diff. people; not all
“faces” are significant & can make us defensive.
c. We are most defensive when criticism is TRUE.
2. Topics provoking defenses can vary by sex or culture
a. Clothes & hair= both men & women = defensive
b. women=more defensive about weight
c. Men more defensive. abt. comments on physical/ mental errors (Futch & Edwards, ’99)
d. Women in traditional male jobs report several face-threatening interactions w/ men. (Irrizarry, ‘04)

9. II. How Climates Develop, cont.
B. 3. Culture: Collectivistic cultures likely sensitive to face- threatening acts & eager to preserve harmony by smoothing over conflicts
- Learn to express direct conflicts in face-saving (face honoring) manner. (Tjosvold et al, ‘04)
4. In-group vs. out-group: Who says it matters.
- We tolerate in-group comments better than out-group ones. (Hornsey, ’02)
5. Responsibility: All communicators contribute to the climate and share responsibility for it. Senders must protect others’ face needs as well as their own.

10. Face-honoring Messages
Assertion : w/o aggression, it focuses on behavior in a respectful, unthreatening way
Explains rather than attacks
Reduces odds of defensive reaction to your words
5 parts of assertive messages:
Describe observed behavior
Interpretation of behavior
Feelings about your interpretation
Consequences: for you, the message target, or others
Intention: Requests or description of action

11. II. How Climates Develop, cont.
C. Climate Patterns: Repeated responses, create a + or - climate pattern. 1. Reciprocal: Supportive messages/acts lead to similar responses; confrontations lead to aggressive responses. 2. They form spirals, positive or negative patterns. a. Spirals go through cycles 1) Successful relationships turn a - spiral into a + one. 2) Pos./confirming commun. leads to pos. responses. 3) Negative comm. more likely reciprocated; hostility usually escalates & creates a negative spiral. b. Some rela. can’t survive if just neg. spiral continues, esp. if attacks are “below the belt”. 3. Both supportive= highest comm. satisfaction

12. III. Creating Positive Climates, cont.
Send supportive rather than defensive-producing messages to create positive climate
Gibb’s 12 categories – used in texts, research, workshops, etc. 1. Evaluation vs. Description: judging & “You” language vs honest, specific thoughts, feelings & wants about changeable behavior
2. Control vs. Problem-Orientation: imposing solution on receivers w/ little or no regard for their needs or wants vs. focusing on finding solution with others, not for them, satisfying all ;“WE” language
3. Strategy vs. Spontaneity: a dishonest, manipulative hiding of ulterior motives vs. honest idea-sharing w/o hidden agendas
Better in low-context cultures
Never use spontaneity (or any supportive comm.) as a strategy

13. III. Creating Positive Climates-Gibbs cont.
4. Neutrality vs. Empathy: Indifference vs. putting yourself in another’s place. You don’t have to agree, but you do need to accept their feelings.
5. Superiority vs. Equality: projecting “I’m better than you” (or your idea) vs. projecting others have as much worth as you do despite unequal knowledge, skills, or talent Certainty vs. Provisionalism: disregarding the ideas of others while being sure your ideas=best/only way (“can’t”, “must”, “have to”, etc.) vs. open to others’ ideas if more reasonable (“may”, “perhaps”, “possibly”, “might”)
- Secure persons can be provisional!
RESPECT UNDERLIES ALL SUPPORTIVE RESPONSES!
Invite others to see your view rather than try to dominate them. (Foss & Griffin ’95)

14. IV. Transforming Negative Climates
How can we react nondefensively to an attack, esp. if it is true? (ways to make neg. climates positive)
A. Seek More Information
1. Ask for Specifics
2. Guess about Specifics
3. Paraphrase the Speaker’s Ideas
4. Ask What Else is Wrong
5. Ask about Consequences of Your Behavior
6. Ask What Else is Wrong
B. Agree w. the Critic
1. Agree with the Truth
2. Agree with the Odds
3. Agree in Principle
4. Agree with the Critic’s Perception

15. IV. Transforming Neg. Climates cont.
A. Seek More Information:
Ask for details before responding to an attack
Don’t confuse open-minded listening w/agreeing.
Learning to listen nondefensively takes practice!
1. Ask for Specifics: Vague criticism never helps,; get
more information before agreeing or disputing.
Ie. (“What is it I did that upset you?”)
Ask only if you really want to learn, so you can change if needed
Are V and NV congruent?

16. IV. Transforming Neg. Climates cont.
A. Seek More Information
2. Guess about Specifics: Become detective and learn for both your sakes what’s wrong by asking ?’s about specifics.
“Is it the amount of time I listen to loud music?”
3. Paraphrase: use reflective listening to understand the critic ‘s thoughts & feelings.
- To reduce intensity of attack by letting other person know you hear
- To learn valuable information (grain of truth)
4. Ask What the Critic Wants: Investigate to find out what the critic needs. Be sure the right NV behavior is there. & your response to criticism is sincere. p. 323 ed.10

17. IV. Transforming Negative Climates cont.
A. Seek More Information, cont.
5. Ask about Consequences of Your Behavior:
- What trouble does your behavior cause them?
- Once you know, the criticism may have validity
6 . Ask What Else Is Wrong:
- Sometimes there’s another problem.
- IF you can control your defensiveness, probing further can get to the critic’s real issues.

18. IV. Transforming Negative Climates, cont.
Agree with the Critic: Honestly accept critic’s (right to) a
pt. of view, but still maintain your position.
Agree with the Truth: Accept the facts, but not nec. the judgment that comes with them.
- Do it honestly & w/o malice. Accept truth graciously!
- Lose myth of perfection & the need to disagree with truth Only the 1st step: You still need to learn to resolve conflicts
2. Agree with the Odds: (but not demands) Realistically agree with odds but learn real reasons for the criticism & more new consequences may surface.

19. IV. Transforming Neg. Climates, cont.
B. 3. Agree in Principle: Accept the principle on which it’s based, but continue behavior. (“There’s more to life than work.” “You’re right. I probably do need to relax, but I’ll do it after finals.”)
4. Agree with the Critic’s Perception: When you can’t find any truth, can’t agree w/ odds, or can’t accept a principle, then agree the critic has a right to perceive it another way.
- Avoids fights about who’s right & who’s wrong. (“I can see why you’d think that.”)