- Formal and informal communication
Formal communication is official or correct form of information. For example: when someone speaks or writes in an ‘official’ way as they are representing their care organisation or are contacting the organisation officially.
Informal communication doesn’t stick to the formal rules. For example; a casual and relaxed conversation, written note or text message is considered as informal communication. Another example is ‘Hi DAD’ when people communicate in an informal way; they are less concerned about the correct use of English. It doesn’t mean this sort of communication is less respectful.
The key issue for care professionals is to adjust the way the service users speak or write, so that they choose a way that is appropriate for the context in which the communication is occurring. For example; a person who has health worries may think they are not being taken seriously or are being respected if a care professional speaks to them in an informal way. On the other hand communicating in a formal way might cause service user to feel intimidated or that they are being treated in a cold/impersonal way.
- Verbal and Non-Verbal communication
A care professional communicates and interacts with service users, professionals and collegues by using a variety of verbal and non-verbal communication.
Verbal communication is a way we communicate our thoughts through words. There are different forms of verbal communications such as oral/spoken, text messaging or email, written.
To communicate verbally a person needs to understand a vocabulary of words and how to put them together. Effective verbal communication is when one speaks and the other one listen and understands the message. For example; In a radiotherapy department different care professionals sit together to in panel to discuss patients diagnoses and further treatment. Verbal communication skills are needed to discuss the worries, concerns, treatment and diagnosis of the patient.
- Written communication
Care practitioners spend a lot of time writing as they have to plan and document the care they provide to the service users. Many care organisations have official record keeping system for further references. For example: when a patient goes to a GP’s surgery, a doctors always records the conversation and medication prescribed for future references.
- Sign language
Sign language is a language which instead of using sounds uses visual signs. These are made up of the shapes, positions and movement of the hands, arms or body and facial expressions to express a speaker’s thoughts. Sign language is commonly used in communities which include the friends and families of deaf people as well as people who are deaf or hard of hearing themselves.
A classic example would be British Sign Language. It is the first preferred language of the deaf community; it is accepted by both linguists and the British Government as a language in its own right (such as English or German). Therefore written English may not always be understood by a BSL user, as it is a different language.
The communication skills needed by care professionals in health and social care environments.
Case study: Amber
Explain the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in a health and social care context.
The following conversation took place between members of the same family:
Mother: How was your day at work?
Amber: OK, didn’t do much, walked about a bit. Have to learn where everything is and stuff.
Mother: Did you enjoy it there?
Amber: Suppose it was alright. I had to listen to a guy going on about stuff but it was boring. Might be better tomorrow. I am going to ‘do’ the residents tomorrow – they should be more fun!
Amber wouldn’t have spoken to her colleagues in a manner she did with her mother, as they would have assumed that amber didn’t respect or valued them. Amber communicated in a very poorly and informal manner. She just gave a brief layout of her day without any specific clarification. She did use a slang dialect ‘do’ instead of saying I’m going to visit the residents. This was a very informal conversation that anyone can have with a family member, but in a professional environment a convers like this can have a negative effect. It can make her colleagues feel that maybe she is not interested in having a conversation or lack of respect and value. Although communication between colleagues may often be informal but it is very important that care workers use skilled communication in order to develop respect and trust.
In a health care setting it is important that a care worker shows respect to their colleagues, as if they fail to do so it might mean they have no respect towards the people who use care services. It is necessary to often greet colleagues by asking how well they are, in order to show that you value them. It is essential to develop trust between care workers; this could be done by respecting their confidentiality. While having conversation with colleagues it is important to remember details and be a good listener. A care setting may have their own social expectations about the way you communicate thoughts and feelings. These may differ from social expectations when communicating with family and friends. Therefore amber’s this conversation is not accepted within the work context.
Amber could add a little enthusiasm, interest, correct terminology to express her thoughts and feeling and use a correct body language. While demonstrating these ideas amber might gain respect, value and trust of their colleagues and they will look forward to working with her.
Case study: Karen
Explain the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in a health and social care context.
Karen is a home care worker. Here are some statements that people have made about the way she works:
“I always feel better when she visits – she always smiles and cheers me up if I feel down.”
“She makes you feel important – she always listens to you, even when she is very busy.”
“She is so easy to talk to – she takes an interest in you. She is never ‘bossy’ or ‘posh’ –
she is like one of my family.”
“She makes you feel special – not just one of the crowd.”
“She is very kind and considerate. There aren’t very many people like her – it’s a sort of
magical touch – you feel different when she is around.”
Karen has excellent interpersonal skills – a ‘magical touch’. Karen’s skills enrich her own life and the lives of other people.
Why do some people get on so well with other people?
- Interpersonal skills play an important role in health professionals lives.
- They understand the styles of an ethnically diverse community.
- Active listening skills and corresponding in a way other person wants to listen.
- By recognising the person that is taking and doting them, knows you are listening.
- It is important to listen and comprehend to what someone is saying.
- Some people can also communicate through formal and informal communication in their everyday life and making other people more comfortable to have a conversation with.
- Some people can make others feel safe and are able to gain confidence, to form relationships and to develop self-esteem.
What makes someone good at interpersonal work?
- When people have qualities like calm, confident and charismatic.
- When they are aware of words they choose while talking to others.
- By understanding why communication fails.
- When people have a positive attitude and clarifying anything misunderstood.
- Being assertive in a way others can understand and respect.
P2 Discuss theories of communication
A theory is a set of ideas that can be used to understand, explain and make predictions about something. Theories of communication provide ways of analysing communication between people and give care practitioners an insight into what works and why.
When communicating with other people we automatically start to express our own thoughts and opinions and we start to understand the other person's expressions and conversation. This is called the communication cycle. When we are communicating with other people we both become involved in a process of expressing our own thoughts and opinions; we start to interpret the other person's thoughts and understand their way of communicating. Communication is a two way process in which each person attempts to understand one another. The communication cycle requires you to have advanced listening skills and the ability to check the other persons understanding once they have responded.
The communication Cycle
Michael Argyle (1925–2002) was a social psychologist who researched and developed theories about human communication and interpersonal interaction. He focused on both verbal and non-verbal communication, carrying out experimental research to test and develop his theoretical ideas (see Argyle, 1967, 1969 and 1975). Argyle’s ‘communication cycle’ theory sets out to understand, explain and predict how communication occurs between people in one-to-one situations.
In The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour (1967), Argyle proposed that communication is a skill that needs to be learnt and practised like any other skill. Argyle’s (1967) claim was that human communication is essentially a two-way process that involves people sending, receiving and responding to each other’s verbal and non-verbal messages.
Argyles communication cycle
Argyles stage of communication cycle is where an idea occurs, message coded, message sent, message received, message decoded, message understood. The first stage where the idea occurs is when we think about the thing we are about to say and to who. The second stage, message coded, is when we plan to say it. The fourth stage is message received, this is when the other person hears what you have said. The fifth stage is message decoded, this is when the person you are speaking to translates what you have said if it is in a different language. The sixth stage is message understood, this is when the other person can understand the meaning of what you have said to them.
Tuckman’s interaction cycle
In groups communication depends on how other people feel around each other. Tuckman suggested that most groups go through four stages in group interaction Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.
The first stage is Forming, this stage is important because the team members get to know each other and become friendly. At first team members tend to behave independently and although goodwill may exist they do not know each other well enough to unconditionally trust one another. For example; when a health care professional starts a new job in a care setting, they just start to form relationships.
The next step is Storming, this is important for the growth of the group. This stage distinguishes the strong groups from the weaker ones as some group do not make it past this stage. Relationships between team members will be made or broken at this stage and some may never recover. It is important for the team to have a strong facilitative leadership at this stage. for example; when a care worker who has just started working might build or break relationships with team members at this stage.
The third step is Norming, at this stage the team agree on the rules and values by which they operate. The team begin to trust themselves and individuals start to take greater responsibility so the leader can take a step back.
The fourth step is Performing, not all teams make it to this stage. At this stage group finally matures and gets down to working effectively. Members tend to focus more on the overall goal rather than on relationships between themselves. Relationships have, by this stage, become more comfortable and are based on trust and mutual support.
Case study: Karen and Jasmin
Karen is talking to Jasmin, whose partner has died.
Jasmi: I can’t believe it. I don’t know how I’m going to cope on my own, I can’t sleep or eat.
Karen: You must feel awful, it must have been a terrible shock.
Jasmin: I’ll say it was – I just feel so anxious. I know I won’t be able to cope.
Karen: Can you tell me a little about your life together?
In this brief example there is no helpful advice or information that Karen can offer. Karen is careful to reflect back what Jasmin has said. This results in a communication cycle in which Jasmin can begin to share her feelings.
Can you explain why it is so important for care workers to say back what they understand?
- Communication is a cycle, when two people communicate they need to check that their ideas have been understood.
- The process of checking understanding, using reflective or active listening are all part of good communication skill which a care professional should have.
- It is essential to demonstrate that the information service user has provided has been understood by the care worker, for them to communicate effectively.
What might have happened if Karen had responded with “don’t worry, you’ll feel better as time goes by”?
How can understanding the communication cycle help care professional to develop skilled communication?
- Communication is very essential in health care setting as it helps to understand service user’s social, emotional, intellectual and care needs.
- Care professional has to have the advanced listening skills and the ability to check their understanding of others responses in order to understand their care needs.
- Care practitioners need to have an understanding of group processes and patterns of group behaviour in order to interact and communicate well in the various group situations that they experience.
- Communication cycle helps care workers to build understanding using an active process of reflecting, checking on what the other person is receiving.
M1 Assess the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in health and social care with a reference to theories of communication.
A health promotional specialist was invited to a school to give information on violence. I witnessed how Mr Paul uses his communication skills to tell children about violence and other sensitive and complex issues in the world. Sometime students may ask him about drugs, sex, relationships and alcohol, as they can get the information from TV, movies, magazines or from friends.
Using Argyle theory Mr Paul has to pay attention to a specific form of communication in order to send and receive information correctly. Once he talks about the violence in the world, he has to consider if what he says will scare the children and how he can communicate this information supportively and comfortably. This is the part where he has to consider feedback and whether it was understood. He may also need to consider simple language so they can understand. Also he may have to give an example from current news coverage.
When he starts talking he needs to watch his audience’s body language. The facial expression can show our emotions. Some children will be sad, anxious and even fearful for their own family's safety, others will be confused about how to make sense of the events, and others will have little reaction. For example: Some will respond with excitement and anticipation, while others will have a mix of emotions—fear, sorrows, and worry.
He needs to listen to their response in a way that can show he is interested and attentive to what they said. Then he needs to understand what they are saying from their point of view. If he cannot understand something, he will ask them to explain it.
Bibliography
Books
- Ashbridge. L,A.et.al, 2006 BTEC First Health and Social Care, Heineman educational publishers.
- Thomson. H, A.et. Al, Hodder Vocational A level Health and Social Care
Internet
Images
Websites
- http://www.freecoursework.info/content/alevel/a-level-healthcare/712/1/
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sanaamohammed (student)
