There are many theories that involve communication to help improve interactions. They are structure of interaction, listening skills and communicating cycle, SOLER principles, group structures and group information. The two theories I am going to discuss

The theory is very important in following the steps to interaction with the children. If the theory is somehow ignored by the teacher then it would be very hard for both the child and the teacher to interact with each other. This will have more effect on the child because they may be not confident to share / express their feelings which can withhold information with the teacher. If there is a lack of expression when communicating with each other then there would also be a lack of understanding of child development in the nursery.  

SOLER principles

SOLER communication is an acronym that helps guide service provider within care settings when discussing information that may be particularly sensitive to the service users. It is a non-verbal communication listening techniques and it can be very effective depending on the situation and the individuals involved.

Egan presented many ‘basic skills like micro skills that can help improve an interaction by creating a feeling of involvement or understanding presence when working with another person’. He also thought that it is important that service providers show that they care and empathise with the people that they are caring for in order for them to create a good relationship.

The SOLER acronym stands for;

SQUARELY- this is mainly to do with body orientation. When facing individual they need to face squarely so that the person is felt that they are involved in the communication. Within the care settings the service provider should sit either facing the service users or sit to the side depending on the situation.

OPEN BODY- this is seen as being non- defensive so therefore service providers should not sit with their arms folded, legs crossed etc as sometimes these can be seen defensive. The carers body language should not show any insecurity as the service user may see this as a ‘physiological barrier’. Body language has an involvement in this as it is all about the carer keeping a sense of understanding by having a more open atmosphere.

LEANING FORWARD- it shows that the person you are having conservation with showing respect, interest and commitment but keeping In mind that personal space is kept so that they don’t feel threatened.

EYE CONTACT- it is about keeping a suitable eye contacts with the service user or while having a conservation with people. Having eye contact conveys interest and as a result the service users are more likely to share information with the service provider. However, eye contact varies in different cultures as they keep eye contact to be portrayed as a disrespectful which is why it is avoid.

RELAX- it is about how you are able to maintain your body language and how relaxed you are. This is because it is important to maintain a relaxed appearance and manner in order to make the service user feel the same way. According to Egan the service user should be relaxed and be completely natural so that the service user does not feel threatened.

Within my care setting I have will be observing the teacher whether she uses these techniques or concepts during the interaction with the children. The theory is very effective in promoting communication in some organization as it supports the idea of how the teacher communicates with the children. When talking to the children the teacher use open posture by using hands gestures so that the atmosphere becomes more relaxed. The teacher needs to vary her eye contact with the child as she does not want them to feel uncomfortable or any fear. The teacher also needs to take into consideration when speaking with the children as she needs to vary her tone depending on the situation. The teacher starts communication at first by welcoming the students with a smile and then asks how their day was. This helps the student to start speaking to their teacher.

Care values need to be promoted when using these theories such as the children learning and development. The teacher may discuss many things as to which the child can focus on some things that the child can improve. This can make the child feel they are being taken care while improving with their attitudes and learning how to improve on themselves.

SOLER communication is very important in the care settings as it has the main concepts in order to keep a calm environment. The teacher makes sure that when discussing they face each other so that they are not being too dominating, they use definite body language of open posture by keeping a fixed face to face communication, the teacher only lean in when something is said to be private so that it is kept confidential. Eye contact is seldom use as some teacher don’t communicate as often.  

If the theories are not being focused in the care setting then there may be uneasiness for some of the people. The most important is that children need comfort and attention for them to feel comfortable. If the teacher does not use an open posture and has a very bad tense atmosphere around then the child would feel uncomfortable resulting in communication less and would not build an effective relationship with the teacher. If the teacher does not lean in at appropriate times the children may feel that interest is lost in the conservation as the teacher is leaning back at times. This may have a negative effect on the children as they might think that the teacher does not like them. The teachers need to make an eye contact with the students; if they don’t make an eye contact then it would be very hard for the teacher to measure whether the children are paying attention which can mean that concentration of the child can be lost which can lead to lack of understanding to the matter.

References

GCE AS Level Single Award Health and Social Care, NEIL Moonie

 soler comminication

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