Improving
Communication
Climate & Conflicts
Chapter 10 & 11
Communication Climate
Describes:
• Quality of personal
relationships
•
Emotional tone
Confirming CommunicationMessages that convey value
Types of confirming messages:

Recognition- recognize the other person. (there
are many times that people don’t respond on this
basic level)

Acknowledgment- Listening is the most common
form of acknowledgment
(being interested in others ideas)

Endorsement- You agree with others ideas and
find them important
Disconfirming
Communication
Messages that show a lack of regard
Types of disconfirming message:
 Verbal Abuse- Communication that appears to be
meant to cause psychological pain to another
person.

Complaining

Impervious response- ignoring the other person’s
attempt to communicate

Interrupting-beginning to speak before the other
person has finished speaking

Irrelevant response- a comment unrelated to what
the other person has just said

Tangential response- instead of ignoring
the speakers remarks completely, the
other party uses them as a starting point
for a shift to a different topic

Impersonal response- loaded with clichés
and other statements that never truly
respond to the speaker.

Ambiguous response- contain messages
with more than one meaning, leaving the
other party unsure of the responders
position.

Incongruous response-contain two
messages that seem to deny or contradict
each other.
Climate Development
When Communication begins
1.
•
Spiral: reciprocating
communication style
•
Escalatory Conflict Spiral:
disconfirming messages are
reinforced
•
De-escalatory Conflict spirals:
parties lessen dependence
Defensiveness
Face-threatening acts: Messages
that challenge your image
Defensive
Evaluation
Control
Strategy
Neutrality
Superiority
Certainty
Supportive
Description
Problem Orientation
Spontaneity
Empathy
Equality
Provisionalism
Dealing with Criticism
Criticism can start a cycle of
defensiveness that pollutes the
communication climate between
people or working groups.
Offering Constructive Criticism-the
way you present your comments can
make a difference between their
being accepted and considered or
being disputed and rejected.
Consider the content
Consider the sender
Consider the relational climate
Consider the delivery
Responding to Criticism
Seek more information
Agree with criticism
Work for a cooperative solution
Conflict Management
Chapter 11
“Nothing can be
changed until it is faced”
James Baldwin
Conflict
An expressed dissatisfaction
An expressed disagreement with:
An interaction
A process
A product
A service
I. Nature of Conflict
A.
Negatives & Positives of Conflict
1. negatives
a. increased negative
regard for other
b. close yourself off
from the other
2. positives
1. forces you to examine
a problem
2. allows you to express
yourself
3. prevents hostilities
from building up
B. Content vs. Relational
Conflict
1. Content = over
objects, events, and
persons external to
the dyad
2. Relational =
between the two individuals involved
Approaches to Conflict
A.
Avoidance = physically
leaving to ignoring
1. Nonnegotiation =
special type of
avoidance
2. should actively
participate in the fight
Competing-assuming that the only way for a
party to reach its goal is to overcome the other.
Verbal Aggressiveness
= method of winning an argument by
inflicting psychological pain
B. Force = physical
and/or emotional
Lets
talk
C. Face Detracting &
Enhancing Strategies
1. detracting = treating the
other as incompetent,
untrustworthy, or bad
2. enhancing = treating
the other as competent,
trustworthy, or good
E. Argumentativeness =
willingness to stand
up and argue for your
point of view
Accommodating-giving ground as a way of
maintaining harmony.
Collaborating: meeting one’s needs and those of
others
Compromising: Each party sacrifices something to
gain an agreement.
C. Conflict & Culture
1. differ in how they
define/evaluate conflict
2. differ in perceptions of
abuse
3. differ in the types of
conflicts that will arise
Effective Conflict
Management
Be knowledgeable and respectful of
different worldviews.
Engage in “mindfulness”
Create new categories
Be open to new information
Be aware that multiple perspectives
typically exist in viewing a basic event.
II. Model of Conflict
Resolution
A. Define the conflict
1. both content and
relational conflict
2. with specific,
behavioral terms
3. focus on the present
4. use empathy
5. avoid blame
6. use empathic
understanding
7. avoid mindreading
Negotiation Styles and
Outcomes
Win-lose- one party gets what they
want, the other comes up short
Lose-Lose-neither side is satisfied with
the outcome
Compromise-both sides at least get
some of what they wanted, through
sacrifice of part of their goals
Win Win-find a solution that satisfies
the needs of everyone involved
B. Examine Possible
Solutions
1. look for a
win-win
situation
True
Collaboration
2. avoid a win-lose
situation
Win the
battle lose the
war
C. Test Solution = put the
plan into action
D. Evaluate the Solution =
according to the criteria
previously established
E. Accept or Reject the
Solution
accept
Reject
Handling Conflicts Assertively
Identify the goal you are seeking
 Choose the best time to speak
 Rehearse the statement
 Pinpoint the specific behavior you
want to discuss
 Explain your reaction to the behavior
 Make a request
 Describe the consequences

Conflict Management
A case study
A primary school teacher (3rd grade) has had some
discipline problems in her classroom. Several
students have been chronically disruptive. The
teacher has disciplined them in various ways
(e.g., verbal warnings, extra homework, and
detention) with little success. The students’
clownish antics threaten to turn the classroom
into a zoo. As a “last resort she sends the
disruptive students to the principal whose policy
is that of corporal punishment. The teacher is
uncomfortable with this policy, but desperate.
The spankings temporarily reduced the
disruption but it is beginning to increase again.
To make matters worse, now the entire class sees
the teacher as an insensitive ogre. In addition,
the parents have verbally accosted the teacher
for sending their kids to be spanked. The teacher
is beginning to lose motivation and the
classroom has become a battlefield. Little
learning is taking place. Parents are upset with
the teacher, the students are upset with the
teacher, and the teacher hasn’t a clue how to
proceed.
All right you brilliant conflict mangers, help this
teacher. What should the teacher do?
What are some of the cultural issues
addressed in this case study?
What conflict style did the teacher use?
What conflict style would you use?
What are some helpful tools we can use assist
the teacher?