Communication cliamte

1. MODULE-3
BY
LALIT Kr. SINGH
NISCHAIY KOHLI

2. Communication Climates
Personal relationships are a lot like the
weather. Some are fair and warm, while others
are stormy and cold; some are polluted, and
others healthy. Some relationships have stable
climates, while others change dramatically—calm
one moment and turbulent the next. You can’t
measure the interpersonal climate by looking at a
thermometer or glancing at the sky, but it’s there
nonetheless. Every relationship has a feeling, a
pervasive mood that colors the interactions of
the participants.

3. Although we can’t change the external weather,
we can all act in ways that improve an
interpersonal climate. This lesson will explain the
forces that make some relationships happy and
comfortable and others unpleasant. You will
learn what kinds of behavior contribute to
defensiveness and hostility, and what kinds lead
to more positive feelings. After reading this, you
will have a better idea of the climate in each of
your important relationships . . . and even more
important, how to improve it.

4. Four elements contribute to satisfying
personal relationships
• Investments are the contributions (e.g., time,
energy, emotions) that we make to relationships
without expecting to get them back if the
relationship ends; in the most satisfying
relationships, everyone feels like the investments
made by all involved are roughly equal.
• Commitment is the personal choice we make to
keep a personal relationship alive in the
future.

5. • Trust develops in a relationship as the people
involved do what they say they will do and
support each other.
• Relational dialectics are the opposing forces
or tensions inherent in everyday relational
functioning.

6. Communication Climate: The Key to
Positive Relationships
• The term communication climate refers to the
emotional tone of a relationship. A climate
doesn’t involve specific activities as much as the
way people feel about each other as they carry
out those activities. Surely you’ve been in classes
that are friendly, comfortable places to learn and
others that are cold and tense, even hostile. The
difference is climate. You’ll see the same sorts of
differences in other contexts—family, friendships,
and workplaces. If you’ve experienced both kinds
of climates, you know what a difference climate
makes.

7. • Research has shown that employees have a
higher level of commitment at jobs in which
they experience a positive communication
climate. Studies also show that performance
and job satisfaction increase when the
communication climate is positive. Whether
it’s the workplace, the classroom, or the
home, people look for and stay in
communication climates that affirm and
support them.

8. Conforming and Disconfirming
Communication
• What makes a communication climate positive or
negative? In large part, the answer is surprisingly
simple. The tone of a relationship is shaped by the degree
to which the people believe themselves to be valued by
one another.
• Social scientists use the term confirming communication to
describe messages that convey valuing and disconfirming
communication to define those that show a lack of
regard. It’s obvious that confirming messages are more
desirable than disconfirming ones. But what characteristics
distinguish them? Actually, it’s an oversimplification to talk
about one type of confirming message. In truth, confirming
communication occurs on three increasingly positive levels.

9. • Recognition. The most fundamental act of
confirmation is to recognize the other
person. Recognition seems easy and obvious, and
yet there are many times when we do not respond
to others on this basic level. Failure to write or
visit a friend is a common example. So is failure to
return a phone message. Avoiding eye contact
and not approaching someone you know on
campus at a party or on the street sends a
negative message. Of course, this lack of
recognition may simply be an oversight. You might
not notice your friend, or the pressures of work
and school might prevent you from staying in
touch. Nonetheless, if the other
person perceives you as avoiding contact, the
message has the effect of being disconfirming.

10. • Acknowledgement. Acknowledging the ideas
and feelings of others is a stronger form of
confirmation. Listening is probably the most
common form of acknowledgement. Of course,
counterfeit listening has the opposite effect of
acknowledgement. More active
acknowledgement includes asking questions,
paraphrasing, and reflecting. As you read in
Lesson 4, reflecting the speaker’s thoughts and
feelings can be a powerful way to offer support
when others have problems.

11. • Endorsement. Whereas acknowledging means you are
interested in another’s ideas, endorsement means that you
agree with them. It’s easy to see why endorsement is the
strongest type of confirming message, since it
communicates the highest form of valuing. The most
obvious form of endorsement is agreeing. Fortunately, it
isn’t necessary to agree completely with another person in
order to endorse his or her message. You can probably find
something in the message that you endorse. “I can see
why you were so angry,” you might say to a friend, even
though you don’t approve of his outburst. Of course,
outright praise is a strong form of endorsement and one
you can use surprisingly often once you look for
opportunities to compliment others.

12. Guideline for Creating and Sustaining
Healthy Climate
1. Monitor our communication so that we use it
to create supportive rather than defensive
climates.
2. We need to accept and confirm others while
still being honest.
3. We need to make sure we affirm and assert
(state what we need, feel, or want without
putting ourselves above or below others)
ourselves in a relationship.

13. 4. We need to self disclose when it is
appropriate; use caution when choosing how
much,when, and to whom to disclose.
5. Understand that there is not a single mold
into which all relationships fit.
6. Find ways to respond effectively to criticism.