I said this to make her feel she deserved it. This is important because she might feel its some one else’s money that is been used which could contribute to her reluctance.
E: Like I said I have lived here all my life and I love the way things are right now.
While she answered I observed she was very comfortable with the way the house is because of her body language and facial expression at that point she leaned forward and unfolded her arms this actions suggested how serious she was.
T: How do you feel about the career that comes in to see how you are and to help you out?
E: She’s nice because she does my laundry cleans and cooks most of the time she comes here. My neighbours always provide me with evening meals.
T: Would you like to see me again?
I was bringing the conversation to an end because Emily looked like she needed to rest. I packed away the tea things.
E: I would love to see you again.
T: Is there anything you would like me to do for you before I leave?
I was trying to extend my relationship with her by offering support as I have just met her.
E: No, you have been a great company.
T: Smiling, I will come and see you another day and thank you very much for seeing and talking to me.
E: That’s alright darling. Bye….
She shut the door behind me.
SKILLS
EYE CONTACT:
A person’s eye, like their facial expression, can be a good suggestion of their feelings or emotions, because through eye contact that you make with another person, it communicates a certain non-verbal message. In care settings, care practitioners need to use eye contact properly when interacting with service users, colleagues, or relatives. Eye contact can be used to let some one know that you wish to talk to them. However this can be influenced by their cultural background. The role of eye contact between Emily and me was to make her feel secure, confide in me and most importantly to show I was interested in what she was saying. It worked but it wasn’t effective enough because I maintained a long, unbroken eye contact with her which made her look away within seconds probably because she felt uncomfortable with it.
VOICE OF TONE:
The basis of verbal communication is the use of an oral language. Its quality can be affected by e.g. tone of voice. Many times it isn't what is said, but rather how it's said that makes people happy or unhappy. For example it is never a good idea to shout or to talk too loud that the listener knows you are shouting. On the basis of the interaction between Emily and me, I believed she responded well to my questions because I tried to show kindness through my gentle and non-aggressive tone of voice that I used, this could have helped create a loving atmosphere which explains the reason why she was calm and not upset.
BODY LANGUAGE:
This is a little different from all other types of non-verbal communication that are used to expressive purposes because body language as a form is always active. Sometimes a person will deliberately use some element of their body to communicate with other person e.g. through facial expression. The positive/negative facial expression towards Emily and Emily’s towards me contributed to the effectiveness of the interaction. E.g. when I asked her: “have you ever thought of living any where else?” She pulled a face which made her facial muscle tight and her eyes contracted this gave a clear suggestion that she doesn’t like the idea which gave me a better understanding of what she wants and what she doesn’t.
PACE OF CONVERSATION:
This is the speed at which a person speaks. Mumbling, speaking too quickly, failure to complete sentences will induce the effectiveness of conversation. Before, during and after the interaction between Emily and me, I made sure the pace of conversation was not too fast because she is old and not slow because it could upset her so I tried to speak in a steady, clear and reasonably paced manner which as helped Emily to hear and understand what is been said.
GESTURE:
A gesture is a deliberate movement, mostly of a person’s hands, that is used to convey ‘meaning’ non-verbally. People send ‘messages’ through the use of variety of gestures such as ‘sign language’. Care practitioners and service users will tend, like other people, to use gestures in a natural, unplanned way. The gesture of the interaction between Emily and me communicated as effectively as words because it was informative due to the fact that emotions through it were expressed and meaning were emphasised but I felt like my facial expressions was inappropriate because I was uncomfortable with the environment.
POSTURE:
The way that the person stands or sits is referred to as ‘posture’. People tend to ‘read’ another person’s posture in order to interpret their ‘attitude’ and feelings. It is always best to check your ‘reading’ of someone’s postural ‘message’ with the person, by sensitively asking them question about how they are feeling, to avoid making wrong interpretations or reading too much into how they are standing or sitting.
During my interaction with Emily, my posture with my arms and legs were uncrossed this is called an OPEN posture which suggested a more relaxed, open attitude. The desk touching the wall allows for a more informal and less dominating encounter because sitting side on to the door allows for ease of approach.
SITTING POSITION
PROXIMITY:
This is the interaction between people during interactions is known as ‘proximity’ and it can sometimes be referred to as ‘personal space’. During an interaction how much personal tends to depend on that person’s cultural background, their upbringing and the type of relationship that they have with the person that they are interacting with.
I avoided Emily’s personal space by not sitting next to her but opposite her this happened because people you are not close with tend to require more personal space than people you are close with.
USE OF SILENCE:
The strategic use of silence in this kind of interview especially with an older person will result in a greater quantity and quality of information being obtained from the subject. However, there was not much use of silence during the interaction between Emily and me I was only silent when she spoke because when if you don’t ‘listen’ they stop talking.
QUESTIONING:
This plays an important role in interaction as it as it makes people talk about matters that concerns them depending on the type of question asked which could be either closed here respondent can give specific answers either ‘yes or no’ or open where respondent as to give some length.
Even though I tried as much as possible to ask open questions from Emily because this provide opportunity for more communication to occur but I was unable to ask as much, as I was trying to caution my self of what kind of questions I asked her.
EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERACTION
WEAKNESSES AND HOW I COULD IMPROVE IT
QUESTIONING:
I felt like the questions I asked even though most were opened questions didn’t lead to exactly what my mission was such as trying to persuade her to help and fix in a hot tap. Asking more reasonable questions would have given Emily a chance to express her thoughts and emotions. To make Emily believe I was listening to her I should have said again a few things she had said. I should have also tried harder to take her feelings into consideration as this could make her feel more valued and create empowerment within Emily.
SETING:
One of the factors that contributed towards the lack of proper effectiveness of the interaction between Emily and I was the place that the conversation took place because the place was a little uncomfortable for me as it was slightly dark and stuffy. I felt I would have interacted much better with Emily if the environment suited me better. I was unable to breathe well because it was stuffy which could have revealed some fe3elings which Emily felt was inappropriate this could reduce her self esteem. I should have asked her if I could open the window but I didn’t because I didn’t know how she would have reacted as I do not really know her.
FACE:
During the interaction between Emily and me I believed tightening my facial muscles once in a while because I was unable to breathe well contributed to one of the reasons why Emily didn’t explain fully detailed the reason(s) why she didn’t want to leave her home instead she repeated things like “like I said I have lived here all my life”. I should have tried to relax my facial muscles and have large, dilated pupils to indicate interest in Emily.
EYE CONTACT:
I felt like I haven’t developed a close enough relationship with Emily to achieve the aim of the purpose of the interaction because during the conversation, I maintained a constant eye contact with Emily but she often looked away within seconds because I think she felt hostile by me looking into her eyes. However, I did this in other to show some emotion which I thought would make Emily want to talk about more personal matters. I would improve the quality of interaction by gazing appropriately if next time I become aware of discomfort and reason for it.
STRENGTHS:
TOUCH:
Touch can send varieties of messages showing that you care but it can also at times mean you have power over them. During my interaction with Emily I never touched her because I do not know her really well although touching could work on people you are close to because you are close to each other and you can predict their reaction towards it. I felt she would feel intimidated and because it would be wrong for me to make thoughts about touch since we both have different cultural backgrounds.
TONE:
I tried as much as I could to make my voice sound willing and formal throughout the times I spoke with Emily. I made sure my tone of voice calmed Emily and tried to avoid dominative voice because she is old and sensitive.
LANGUAGE:
Starting from the moment Emily asked me to “come in” I tried to use informal language and positive words since language is a central feature of any communication process. I also made sure I used informal language so that Emily would understand and be aware of what is happening. I found this to be strength because Emily’s first language is English and so is mine.
POSITION:
When Emily asked me to sit I deliberately sat across the table with her this also brought me down to her level so it didn’t look like I was over empowering her. This type of position also suggests that I have respected her personal space/proximity because the certain reasonable amount of space between us not too close and not too far. Sitting across the table with her also meant we had to face each other which could explain why there were less visual problems and no verbal difficulties.
If I had the chance to repeat the interaction between Emily and me, I would improve the use of reasonable silence when interacting with a care service user because by doing this, these questions can be sustained therefore increasing its power. It often prompts the subject to expose important verbal and nonverbal act which should serve as clues to the care giver that there is more information lying beneath the surface, and that the present enquiry has not been fully explored. I felt like I could improve by using phrases such as "let me say it again", "what I mean is", "what else can I say", "is something wrong", "do you want me to go on" etc Using this phrases the subject would I think typically respond to the silence.
Throughout the conversation, between Emily and me, I have used informal language so as to bring myself to Emily’s level of understanding as she is old. Moreover, different generations may have completely different meanings for example: Cool now means “good” but the definition that an older person might refer to as temperature.
I also tried as much as possible to use open questions rather than closed questions so as to look for hidden meanings in her answers for example repeating things. They didn’t exactly help with the situation instead I understood more about how difficult it will be to try and persuade Emily to change her life style I also think I have portrayed some of the guidelines of effective communication such as addressing her the way she preferred, listened, waited for response, showed cautiousness about the terms I used and questions I asked etc.
This interview was merely the first of a planned series of meetings and I hope to establish a relationship with Emily which could be built upon a future meetings. As our relationship develops and trust builds up the communication would become more effective.
THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED THE INTERACTION
I feel like there were not many factors that influenced my interaction with Emily. One of the factors that didn’t influence my interaction with Emily was my language and the kind of voice in which I used. I made sure I maintained a non-aggressive sound through out the conversation which I believed created a loving atmosphere. I also avoided dominative tone of voice which would make her feel unimportant.
By not touching Emily and the sitting position, I felt had influenced my interaction with her. I feel it was very important not to touch Emily and sit in the right position because if I was standing Emily would have to look up to me when talking or listening which would introduce the idea that I had power over her. I think these are the four main factors that contributed to the positive side of the interaction.
BARRIERS AND HOW I TRIED TO AVOID IT
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM:
Aspects of either the natural environment, such as light and sound or of the built environment such as the buildings and roads in which people live, all these could contribute to ineffective communication.
Light was a barrier because the curtains were not drawn so the room was a little dark which created visual difficulties. I could have avoided this by asking her before the interaction if I could draw the curtains and open the windows. Noise was not a barrier because her surroundings were quiet and peaceful.
LABELLING AND STEREOTYPING:
This usually involve making a negative assumption about what other people are like before, during or after interpersonal interaction this can also affect effectiveness of communication. I tried not to stereo type or label her because it can lead me to a wrong conclusion about her and I also tried as much as I could not to be influenced by this stereotype that older people are hard of hearing, have memory problems etc. because they may be untrue. I was patient with her by waiting for her to finish her sentences before I responded because she is old.
INTERRUPTIONS:
There was hardly any interruption(s) during our conversation because there were no visitors or phone calls at all. This could be because Emily as been described not to like the company of other people “Aunty Emily is a quarrel some old lady and does not like the company of others”.
LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES:
Assuming that other people can understand technical health or social jargon is wrong because what you, your friends or relatives understand doesn’t mean someone you don’t know will. While interacting with Emily, I spoke in English using informal language (simple terms) so as to make sure she understands what is going on. I avoided the use of jargon because it could cause confusion.
In conclusion, analysing and evaluating my skills in my one to one interaction I felt I have indicated most of the communication skills needed for a care worker to interact with a service user but I think these skills were slightly unsuccessful due to the ineffective non-verbal communication skills such as gestures (facial expression), questioning,
And the barriers to effective communication that I experienced. I have shown the strengths and weaknesses of my one to one interaction and described how I could improve them. I believe if I was given another opportunity to do this I could improve on it.
BY: TOLA IYIOLA.
