Take a moment to consider your recent experiences as a member of a group. What emotions did you have when you were with the group? Did you feel defensive and concerned about what the other members thought of your ideas? Did you feel supported, even when you disagreed with other group members? Your answers to these questions describe the group’s communication climate, or the emotional tone established within the group (Gibb, 1961). Every group develops a communication climate, and that climate influences all aspects of the group—from how productive the group is to how well its members get along.

The communication climate arises from the verbal and nonverbal messages group members exchange. For example, if members insult one an-other’s ideas, promise to handle a task and then don’t follow up, or gossip behind each other’s backs, they create a defensive communication climate. In such a climate, team members see the group as threatening (Forward, Czech, & Lee, 2011; Gibb, 1961). This can damage group cohesion.

In contrast, members of a group can create a supportive communication climate by exchanging respectful and supportive verbal and nonverbal messages. When groups communicate this way, team members focus on the ideas being expressed rather than the individuals expressing them (Forward et al., 2011; Gibb, 1961). Even during disagreements, members of the team strive to generate ideas that everyone can support instead of shutting down conversations or taking sides in the dispute. To learn more about dealing with disagreements productively, see the How to Communicate: Handling Complaints feature on pages 296–297.

You can provide leadership in a group by creating an open exchange of ideas among group members and encouraging constructive rather than destructive communication. For a comparison between supportive and defensive communication behaviors, see Table 12.1. To foster a supportive communication climate in a group, focus on mastering the behaviors described in the middle column, and avoiding the defensive behaviors listed in the last column.