As noted on pages 355–356, one key to being effective as a communicator is to be supportive of people. Supportive communication involves being accurate and honest with people in a manner that builds, rather than jeopardizes, relationships with them. This exercise will give you a good feel for how supportive you are as a communicator.

Questions for Discussion 

1. Based on this questionnaire, how supportive are you? Did you score high, such as 4 or 5, or low, such as 1 or 2? Does this score surprise you? Did you expect to score higher or lower than you did?
2. Of the five aspects of supportive communication described in the text and assessed here, which ones are most challenging for you? How do you think you can overcome these limitations and become even more supportive in the future?
3. Based on your own past experiences, how supportive are the various people with whom you have communicated? Who are the most supportive individuals and how do they make you feel when communicating with you?

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Directions Answer each of the following questions by indicating which of the options indicated. A or B, you would be most likely to follow when interacting with someone else in the situation indicated. 1.. 2. 3. - You are discussing the performance of a subordinate whose work has not been up to standards. Which of the following statements comes closest to what you might say? A: Your sales have been lagging in the last few weeks. What do you think is wrong, and how might I be able to help? B: You haven't been meeting your sales quota lately. Unless you improve, you might find yourself looking for a new job pretty soon. - One of your employees has arrived at the office late many times this past week, making it difficult for his customers to reach him. Which of the following statements comes closest to what you might say? A: You would say nothing. B: I've noticed that you've been late this week, and I'm concerned about how this will affect your job performance. Because of changes in your organization, it has become necessary to lay off a member of your work group. When discussing this with the individual to