Building Relationships by Communicating Supportively

1) Communication that is accurate and honest regardless of whether or not it jeopardizes

interpersonal relationships is supportive communication. FALSE
2) Whereas coaching focuses on attitudes, counseling concentrates on abilities. FALSE
3) If a subordinate's problem stems from attitudes, personality clashes, or other factors tied to
emotions, his or her boss faces a counseling problem. TRUE
4) Your boss tells you, "I can help you do this better." This statement lets you know that your
boss sees your problem as an attitude problem. FALSE
5) Janine, one of your employees, constantly offers excuses for her behavior when you talk to
her. The behavior she exhibits demonstrates that she cares more about self protection than
listening. She is being defensive. TRUE
6) If the person you are communicating with suddenly begins to drop important names in the
conversation such as "When the general manager, Sue, spoke with me about this matter, I offered
her advice ..." you have probably caused this person to feel counseled. FALSE
7) Congruence in communication means that what is communicated verbally and nonverbally
matches what the person is thinking and feeling. TRUE
8) When her boyfriend asks if everything is okay, a woman coldly responds, "Everything
is fine." She is practicing congruent communication. FALSE
9) If you make the comment, "You are doing it wrong," to a co-worker, you are engaging in
evaluative communication. TRUE
10) When utilizing descriptive communication, evaluative comments should never be made.
FALSE
11) Problem-oriented communication focuses on the individual's personal traits that led to the
unacceptable behavior. FALSE
12) You comment to a co-worker, "My supervisor, Maxine, is dictatorial." This is an example of
person-oriented communication. TRUE
13) Your boss usually only likes to discuss his point of view. When you offer another point of
view, he ignores you. He is practicing rigidity in his communication. TRUE
14) Your co-worker has a habit of constantly interrupting you when you are talking. He is
practicing validating communication. FALSE
15) Interaction management, which focuses on taking turns speaking, management of timing,
and topic control, has been found to be crucial in supportive communication. TRUE
16) You take responsibility for your statements, using first-person words, such as "I," "me," and
"mine." You are practicing validating communication. FALSE
17) In response to your co-worker's behavior, you remark, "What would people think if they
knew what you did!" This is example of disowned communication. TRUE
18) One aspect of supportive communicationlistening and responding effectively to someone
else's statementsis at least as important as delivering supportive messages. TRUE
19) A personal management interview program is a regularly scheduled meeting between a
manager and all of his or her employees. The meeting allows everyone the chance to talk
together about particular issues. FALSE
20) Benefits associated with companies implementing a personal management interview program
include increased effectiveness, improved individual accountability, department meeting
efficiency, and enhanced communication flows. TRUE
21) What is the most important skill for building and strengthening positive relationships?
A) Creativity
B) Innovation
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C) Communication
D) Intellectual capacity
22) What is the outcome of supportive communication?
A) Other people like you even if they don't understand you.
B) You are judged to be a nice person and others listen to you.
C) The message is delivered accurately and relationships are enhanced.
D) You are socially accepted but not viewed as an excellent manager.
23) What is the statement "I have decided to turn down your request" an example of?
A) Conjunctive, not disjunctive communication
B) Owned, not disowned communication
C) Problem oriented, not person oriented communication
D) Specific, not global communication
24) Managers help employees by addressing problems involving employee attitudes. When
managers do this, what is it called?
A) Coaching
B) Counseling
C) Empowerment
D) Discipline
25) When using descriptive communication to help modify someones behavior, what should a
person do?
A) First describe reactions to the behavior, describe the behavior, and then suggest an alternative
behavior.
B) First describe the behavior, describe reactions to the behavior, then suggest an alternative
behavior.
C) First discuss the problem, then the alternatives, then decide on a solution.
D) Describe the behavior, describe why it's a bad behavior, then describe what will happen (the
consequences) if the person keeps doing the behavior.
26) The difference between saying "You are stubborn" and "This is the second time we are
unable to reach agreement" is the difference between what two types of communication?
A) Congruent and incongruent communication
B) Owned and disowned communication
C) Superior and egalitarian communication
D) Person- and problem-oriented communication
27) You want to utilize supportive communication. You plan to employ validation in your
communication with your subordinate. In particular, you want to practice areas of mutual
agreement. What will you do?
A) List the subordinate's disadvantages before his/her advantages to finish on a strong positive
note.
B) List the subordinate's past mistakes to establish a foundation so that new positive steps can be
utilized.
C) List areas of disagreements first followed by areas of agreement.
D) List compliments before criticisms.

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