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Camryn A. Harrell

Professor Mia Hubbard

Interpersonal Communication 2206

22 November 2018

Writing Assignment #3- Communication Climate Change

“Communication climate is the social tone of a relationship...determined by the degree to

which people see themselves as valued”(Adler et al. 338-339). Feeling valued respectively

comes from confirming communication, and results in a positive reaction. On the other hand, a

negative reaction, coming from disconfirming communication, is caused by the feeling of a lack

of regard.(Adler et al. 339). As presented in a doctor’s office conversation with an inconsiderate

receptionist, the communication climate shifts as the patient loses their feeling of importance in

the situation, a change in strategy of the communicator can prevent conflict, and create a better

understanding of value within a relationship.

Communication strategies were created by psychologist Jack Gibb, six are

defense-arousing and six are contrasting strategies that ease the threatening behavior (Adler et al.

350). The communication climate is affected by these behaviors through forming opinions, trust,

and feelings of the individuals own value from these situations. Gibb’s six defense-provoking

behaviors are paired next to a supportive behavior: evaluation versus description, control versus

problem orientation, strategy versus spontaneity, neutrality versus empathy, superiority versus

equality, and certainty versus provisionalism.

The communication strategy used by the receptionist was neutrality, or indifference.

Using neutrality as a communicative behavior shows “a lack of concern for the welfare of
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another and implies that the other person isn’t very important to you”(Adler et al. 353). The

receptionist at the doctor’s office shows her lack of concern when she blames the slow service on

the patients schedule, “This is what happens when you try to get an appointment during our

busiest time of day.” This promotes defensiveness when the receptionist puts the blame onto the

patient, although they only asked when they’d be able to get into their appointment.

The supportive behavior contrasting neutrality is empathy, showing that an individual

cares for another. “Gibb found that empathy helps rid communication of the quality of

indifference”(Adler et al. 353). The self concept is the “relatively stable set of perceptions you

hold of yourself”(Adler et al. 70). We form our self concept from our social interactions and the

way they make us feel. When the feelings of another are expressively considered, the

self-concept of the listener doesn’t feel so threatened, although it would through neutrality.

Agreeing with each other isn’t required, simply accepting others’ feelings and looking into the

situation from their perspective could avoid unnecessary conflict (Adler et al. 353). To create a

better communication climate, a more supportive behavior in this conversation would go as

follows:

You: “Hello, I have been waiting for over an hour past my appointment time. I need to go

back to my job soon. Can you please let me know when I will be called in to see a doctor?” The

patient is worried about getting to her job, and getting impatient with her waiting time. As the

patient speaks, the receptionist is giving nonverbal communication of listening, to show the

patient’s importance without interrupting their time to speak. Nodding their head, keeping eye

contact, and pausing what they’re doing at their desk to listen to the patient.
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Receptionist: “We are quite busy today, I’m sorry for your wait. There’s still about two

people in front of you, we got backed up after an appointment took longer than expected. If you

need to get back to work, I could schedule another appointment for you, weekdays around this

time are often tied up, but what would work best for you?” The receptionist is in charge of

helping the patients in the waiting room, so they apologize for the lack of timeliness. They then

explain why the appointments are backed up, understand that getting back to work is important

to the patient, and offers a different appointment time to make up for today’s situation. This

gives the patient a better sense of importance to the office, rather than blaming the patient for the

busy time of day. A conflict resolution was suggested by the receptionist, which was all that the

patient needed due to their work schedule. The patient could then schedule a new appointment

and not have to worry about missing work while waiting for their doctor.

Perspective plays an important role in communication, which explains the concept of

empathy in a situation. The receptionist in the conversation most likely saw the situation in a

different light, seeing several people in the waiting room, it would seem unfair to tell one patient

to go ahead and see the doctor when others’ haven’t been able and may have been waiting

longer. On the other side of the situation, the patient was asking what time the receptionist

thought they could get in, this question was never answered and could be because they didn’t

know the answer, but a conflict resolution was still offered to better the situation. The experience

also differs in importance to each communicator, the receptionist sees many other patients, and

the timeliness isn’t important to them like it is to the patients, so one conflict probably won’t

affect them as much as the patient in need of the doctor.

The work of Gibb’s defensive versus supportive behaviors can explain how each situation

can be fixed, as easily as changing your perspective and being in more support of the other

communicators’ feelings. Knowing these behaviors allows you to understand the way what you

say may come off to others, and be able to read what others’ feelings are based on the way they

communicate in a situation like the in the example of the receptionist. A recommendation for

growth when in a conflict is being empathetic, taking the other perspective into consideration

and finding a resolution to the situation. Being more supportive will create a better

communication climate, build a better relationship between communicators, as well as solve the

situations you may find yourself in.

Works Cited

Adler, Ronald B., et al. ​Interplay: the Process of Interpersonal Communication.​ Oxford
University
Press, 2018.