6 Guidelines to Supporting a Healthy Communication Climate
I came from the big city and then spent 12 years in a very remote fishing village. You can imagine how my communication skills improved since being promoted to Regional Manager in my current MLM.
I had to get behind the 8 ball fast to master presentations, phone calls, and one-on-one conversations, in order to improve my communication skills.
Building healthy relationships with my team is now my #1 priority.
From my Interpersonal Communications Course, here are six guidelines I reviewed for establishing a healthy communication climate.
1) Assume responsibility for communicating in ways that actively enhance the mood of the relationship.
2) Accept and confirm our prospects or friends, communicating that we accept them, even though we may not always agree with them or feel the same way.
3) Accept and confirm ourselves just as fully as we do others. Assert our own thoughts, feelings and needs, thus honoring ourselves and as a result, potential business partners will understand us better.
4) Self-disclose when appropriate so that we increase security in relationships and ad to the info we have already shared about ourselves.
5) Realize that diversity in relationships is a source of personal and interpersonal growth – giving insight into the fascinating array of ways humans form and sustain a variety of relationships.
6) Personal growth and healthy relationships are fostered by dealing constructively with criticism. When responding to criticism, count to ten before you react, sincerely seek more information, and at least consider it thoughtfully.
SUPPORTIVE CLIMATES:
Descriptive Communication: describes without passing judgment. (Using “I” Language)
Provisional: communicates openness to others views.
Equal: Maintain eye-contact, pleasant relaxed facial expressions and non verbal cues.
Spontaneous: feels honest, open and unpremeditated, feels authentic and natural.
Empathetic: confirms worth of others and concern for their thoughts and feelings. It conveys acceptance of other people and recognition of their perspectives.
Problem Orientated: focuses on finding answers that satisfy everyone. Goal is to find solution through collaboration and meeting everyone’s needs. This reduces conflict and keeps the lines of communication open, emphasizing the importance of the relationship between communicators.
DEFENSIVE CLIMATES:
Evaluation: we feel psychologically unsafe when we are targets of judgments.
Certainty: absolute and often dogmatic or one right answer, view or action.
Superiority: A need to be first, better or above others.
Strategies: being less than upfront about what is on their minds, using strategies to control us. One person is keeping something from another.
Control: overly attempts to manipulate others – the person exerting control thinks he or she has greater power, rights or intelligence than others.
Neutrality: people become defensive when others react in a neutral or detached manner. Neutral people seem removed on personal matters and lack regard and caring for others.
Simple words such as confirming, recognizing, acknowledgment and endorsing help me to see myself communicating in a professional manner with clients and prospective business partners. Good Luck and remember to keep building your interpersonal skills outside the computer world with real people!