Positive Communication Practices for Enhancing Collaboration

Collaboration is the process of people working together toward a common goal and occurs in a wide range of contexts. When done well, almost anything is possible. Because of its potential, collaboration is touted as one of the most promising ways to address today’s most difficult and complex problems. However, not all collaborative efforts realize their potential for a variety of reasons, including the relational aspects of collaboration. Central to collaboration and its efficacy, interpersonal relationships can be enhanced through positive communication. This research explores positive and negative communication patterns in collaborative contexts. Thematic analysis is applied to qualitative data collected from 278 participants involved in varied collaborative efforts. Fifteen collaborative communication practices emerge as playing an important role in fostering collaboration. Findings from this research contribute to the growing field of positive communication scholarship by offering positive communication practices that people can employ to strengthen interpersonal relationships in collaborative efforts. Guidance on ways practitioners can apply these findings is provided.