Janice and her family are enjoying their dinner meal together when the telephone rings. When Janice answers, the caller says, "Janet, this is Mr. Baxter with ABC Vacations. How are you doing today? Janice corrects his mistake on her name and tells him that she’s in the middle of dinner, to which Mr. Baxter replies, "Oh, I’m sorry, Janice. I just wanted to tell you about our great cruise offer that I can book for you here tonight…" Janice interrupts him, tells him she’s not interested, and hangs up on the telemarketer. Which strategy for creating a supportive climate did Mr. Baxter most likely violate?

Mr. Baxter violated the empathy strategy. There're many strategies for creating a supportive climate: description, problem orientation, spontaneity, equality, empathy and provisionalism. Empathy is the ability to respect and understand the feelings of others. In this case Mr. Baxter should have respected that Janice was in the middle of dinner and should have offered to call her afterwards. Doing so, Janice would have probably been more receptive and willing to talk and listen to his proposal.