Looking Out/Looking In

Eleventh Edition

Chapter Nine:
Improving
Communication Climates

Ronald B. Adler, Russell F. Proctor II, and Neil Towne

 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Improving Communication Climates

Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth 2

 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Communication Climate:
Confirming Communication

• Recognition

• Acknowledgement

• Endorsement

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Communication Climate:
Disconfirming Communication

• Verbal Abuse
• Complaining
• Impervious Responses The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not
to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s
the essence of inhumanity.
George Bernard
• Interrupting
• Irrelevant Responses

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Communication Climate:
Disconfirming Communication

• Tangential Responses

• Impersonal Responses The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not
to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s
the essence of inhumanity.

• Ambiguous Responses George Bernard

• Incongruous Responses

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Communication Climate:
How Communication
Climates Develop
• Escalatory Conflict Spirals

• De-Escalatory Conflict Spirals

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

• Causes: Face-Threatening Acts

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

Types of Defensive Reactions

Attacking the Critic

• Verbal Aggression

• Sarcasm

How
HowCritical
Criticalare
areYou?
You?
http://www.rateyourself.com/poll.cfm/Subject_ID/3/Poll_ID/4001
http://www.rateyourself.com/poll.cfm/Subject_ID/3/Poll_ID/4001
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

Types of Defensive Reactions

Distorting Critical Information

• Rationalization

• Compensation

• Regression
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Question:
Gregor confronts his roommate, Patrick, with a
complaint, “Pat, you haven’t taken out the trash or
done any dishes in weeks. It’s starting to bug me.”
Patrick knows he hasn’t done much around the house
but he doesn’t want Gregor to think poorly of him.
He makes up an explanation and responds, “Yeah,
sorry about that, but I think I’ve been coming down
with something.” Patrick’s response is an example of:
a. rationalization
b. compensation
c. repression
d. regression
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth 10
 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

Types of Defensive Reactions

Avoiding Dissonant Information
• Physical Avoidance

• Repression

• Apathy

• Displacement
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

Preventing Defensiveness in Others

•• Evaluation
Evaluation Versus
Versus Description
Description
•• Control
Control Versus
Versus Problem
Problem Orientation
Orientation
•• Strategy
Strategy Versus
Versus Spontaneity
Spontaneity
•• Neutrality
Neutrality Versus
Versus Empathy
Empathy
•• Superiority
Superiority Versus
Versus Equality
Equality
•• Certainty
Certainty Versus
Versus Provisionalism
Provisionalism
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

Saving Face
The Clear Message Format
• Behavioral Description
• Interpretation
• Feeling
• Consequence
• Intention
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Question:
What is missing from this clear message? “The other
day when you left the office door open, I thought
you were being careless about our agreement. I’m
frustrated because my personal belongings could be
stolen from my desk.”
a. It does not describe behavior.
b. It does not describe your interpretation of the
behavior.
c. It does not describe your intention.
d. Nothing is missing from this clear message.
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Defensiveness: Causes & Remedies

Responding Nondefensively
to Criticism

• Seek More Information

• Agree with the Critic

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Responding Nondefensively to
Criticism - Seek More Information
• Ask for Specifics
• Guess About Specifics
• Paraphrase the Speaker’s Ideas
• Ask What the Critic Wants
• Ask About the Consequences of Your Behavior
• Ask What Else is Wrong
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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Responding Nondefensively to
Criticism - Agree with the Critic

• Agree with the Facts

• Agree with the Critic’s

Perception

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 Chapter 9 - Improving Communication Climates

Question:
Agreeing with the critic involves:
a. Agreeing with facts that are correct, even if
they portray your behavior in a negative light
b. Agreeing that the critic should try to see
things your way
c. Apologizing and verbally agreeing with the
critic’s evaluation of your behavior, even if
you don’t really believe it yourself
d. All of the above

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