Effective communication
Effective communication is the
communication which produces intended or desired result
· Effective communication helps to connect well with others and
understand a person or situation in a better way. ·
It enables us to solve the
differences, build trust and respect in the organization. · Sometimes
our message is misunderstood or we misunderstand the received message,
effective communication helps us to resolve these problems. ·
It helps us in decision making. The 7cs of
effective communication 1. Completeness •
The information conveyed in the
message should be complete to doeffectiveCommunication. •
The sender must take into
consideration the receiver‟s mind set and convey the message accordingly.
•Complete information always gives additional
information whereverrequired; it leaves no question in the minds of the
receiver. 2- Conciseness
•Conciseness means communicating what you want
to convey in theleast possible words. •Concise communication provides short and
essential message in limitedwords.
•Concise message is more appealing and
comprehensive to the audience. 3- Consideration •Effective communication must
take audience into consideration byknowing the viewpoints, background, mindset,
educational level, etc.
•Consideration implies stepping into the shoes
of others.
•Consider the needs and requirements of the
audience to achieveeffective communication. 4-Clarity
•Clarity implies emphasizing on a
specific goal or objective at a time,rather than trying to move away from
track.
•Clarity helps to understand the message
easily.
•Clarity comes with the use of exact,
appropriate and concrete words. 5- Concreteness
•Concrete communication implies being
particular and clear ratherbeing fuzzy and general.
•Concrete communication shows good level of
confidence.
•Concrete information cannot be
misinterpreted 6-Courtesy
•Courtesy means being polite, kind,
enthusiastic and convincing.
•Courtesy reflects the nature and character of
the sender of themessage.
•It is the same as give respect and then
expects the same. 7- Correctness
• Correct information includes the precision
and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message
• Free from grammatical errors and use
of appropriate and correct language.
• Correctness in the communication implies
that the correct information is conveyed through message.
• Correct communication boosts up the
confidence level of the sender.
• Correct information has greater impact on
the audience.
· Skills of Effective communication A-Skills that support in keeping the
focus on the client:
· Looking and listening for cues. Cues are hints and can be words,
gestures or body language. Noticing verbal and non-verbal cues is important to
understanding the client/patient‘s needs
Asking relevant questions Ø Ask open
& closed ended questions Ø Ask open questions as much as possible(esp. at the start) For example:
„How are you?‟ Asking open directive questions: for example: ‗How are you
sinceI last saw you? ‗You said you are not with it, can you tell me more about
that?‘ Ø Ask probing questions ü Clarify: What do you mean by that ü Justify:
What makes you think of that ü Check accuracy: you definitely took 3 tab /day Ø AVOID ü Talk more
than the client/patient ü confusing & complicated questions ü Ignoring
questions of the client/patient
· Psychological focus ü Asking the clients open ended questions about feelings. ü Recognizing
and responding to emotions, feelings and concerns. ü
Client/patients appreciate healthcare professionals asking about their
feelings.
· Using pauses and silence Pauses and silence provide a slower pace and
will help the person to engage in the conversation and give them time to think
what theywant to say.
· Using minimal prompts. Use small, encouraging words and gestures. For
example, nodding or saying ‗go on‘.
· Screening For example: asking the question ‗Is there something else?‘
before continuing with the discussion.
· Clarifying For example: asking the question ‗you said you are not with
it, from what you say, it sounds like it is hard to concentrate?‘
· Negotiating Negotiating and asking permission. For example: ‗Would it
be okay totalk about what is worrying you?‟ B- Skills that support effective
listening:
· Active listening - Most important yet most difficult - Demonstrating
that you are actively listen * Eye contact * Lean forward facing client/patient
―Yes I understand – please continue‖ - Helping the client/patient to be
relevant - Interrupt at appropriate point & try to redirect the interview
E.g. what you just told me about your job is very interesting but I would like
to hear more about the headache you have been having. - You must read between
the lines. Pick up the underlying meaning of the message (intent); don't rely
entirely upon the obvious or superficial meaning (content) but pick up the
nonverbal cues. o Facial expressions (smile, frown, blank look, grimace). o
Gestures/mannerisms (fidgeting, toe tapping, clenched fists). o Eye behaviors
(avoiding eye contact, staring, wide eyes). o Posture (erect, leaning
toward/away from someone).
· Reflecting. - Repeating the client‟s message Verbal or nonverbal -
Reflecting content repeats client‟s statement, May be misusedor overused -
Reflecting feelings - Verbalizing implied feelings in client‟s comment -
Encourages client to clarify
· Acknowledging. Showing a response to what you are noticing or hearing.
For example:‗I can see you are very upset about this.
‘ ·
Summarizing. - Never be afraid to summaries what the client/patient has told
you - Summarize & Check accuracy e.g. “I would like to make sure that I
have been understanding youcorrectly, you told me that “ ―What I hear from you
is that … Did I get that right?” - Highlighting the main ideas expressed -
Conveys understanding - Reviews main themes of conversation - Use at different
times during interaction
· Empathizing. - Empathy means putting yourself in other person's place
- Empathy is neither sympathy (feeling sorry for another person) nor compassion
(that quality of love or tenderness that causes one person to suffer along with
another). - Respond to the client/patients' emotional questions and tell the
client/patient everything about his/her case even if he/she does not ask -
Saying something to show you appreciate (not sympathize) how the other person
seems to be feeling. For example: „Everything has happened so fast, no wonder
you are finding it difficult to take in.
· Paraphrasing. Put the focus of the paraphrase on what the other person
implied, not on what you wanted him/her to imply, e.g., don‘t say, “Ibelieve
what you meant to say was …”. Instead, say “If I‟m hearing you right, you
conveyed that …?” C- Skills that help with giving information:
· Checking what information, the person knows already.
· Giving small amounts of information at a time, using clear terms
andavoiding jargon. · Avoiding detail unless it is requested – do not assume people want to
know.
· Checking understanding using an open question. For example: „I have
gone through some difficult information, what sense have you made of it?‟
· Pausing and waiting for a response to what you have said beforemoving
on.
· Checking, with sensitivity, the effect of the information you have
given on the clientFor example: „There has been a lot of information to take in
today, how are you feeling?