Communication Strategies: Supportiveness

Continuing with my attempt to spell out the various communication strategies, here is a little item on supportiveness--taken from my Essentials of Human Communication which has the most complete discussion of Gibb's system.
     One of the best ways to look at destructive versus productive talk is to look at how the style of your communications can create unproductive defensiveness or a productive sense of supportiveness, a system developed by Jack Gibb in the 60’s. The type of talk that generally proves destructive and sets up defensive reactions in the listener is talk that is evaluative, controlling, strategic, indifferent or neutral, superior, and certain.

Saying the Right Thing

Here's an interesting article--10 Things Your Girlfriend Needs to Hear You Say. The 10 things are equally important, it seems to me, for the boyfriend to hear--whether same or opposite sex. The suggestions are good ones and echo the kinds of things we talk about in our textbooks--supportiveness, immediacy, complimenting, being polite, and so on.