Cooperative Communication is a practice workers can use to communicate more clearly, improve relationships, and successfully cope with hostile or angry behavior. It is particularly useful for staff who come into contact with emotionally charged, angry, or upset clients, consumers, or tenants.
It is a skill based practical approach to reading and understanding others and interracting with them that promotes cooperation. It also involves skills for deescalation of challenging emotional states.
This method is effective because it doesn't require any special language, jargon, or coded phrases. It is communication without judgment, blame, or giving in to others. People listen and respond when engaged in this way.
The objective of Cooperative Communication is to promote interpersonal safety and better understanding.
Cooperative Communication:
- enhances understanding through improved listening skills.
- builds rapport and develops respectful relationships.
- defuses angry, irate and emotionally charged people.
- increases safety for workers that serve challenging clientele such as those in children’s or adult protective services.
- supports people in working together towards a common end: being more productive and achieving more desirable outcomes.
- enhances the ability to listen respectfully and focus on what's important.
About Cooperative Communication
