Better Communication Essay

Effective communication is the key in the health care critical for health care professionals. The key foundation of any coworkers is being able to communicate clearly. With the help of effective communication people are able to define and understand goals and shear and receive the information better. When there is a lack of communication in the health care industry it can cause a poor medical care and mistakes in patent’s medical history. Therefor; clarity is a must in the health care industry. Active listening is also a part of better communication skills. The supportive and defensive communication is everywhere and lasting. In the health care environment supportive communication is appropriate then defensive communication. Supportive communication expresses encouragement and understanding when communicating with others while during defensive communication the individual feels defended, anxious or threatened. During communication as a individual becomes defensive they are les s able to recognize the values and senders emotions Interpersonal communication is the interaction between two or more people. Good interpersonal communication skills are essential in the creation and maintenance of relationships with others. Dwyer (2009, p.62) explains that ‘in any context, our relationships are built through our interpersonal communication.’ Self concept, emotional intelligence, assertive behaviour, empathy and the ability to actively listen and provide feedback are all desirable interpersonal communication tools considered necessary to maintain relationships and aid in conflict resolution. Dwyer (2009, p. 152) states that ‘Conflict arises when needs are not met. Those needs can be physical, financial, social, educational, intellectual, recreational or spiritual, tangible or intangible. However, even in a situation of conflict, it is possible, by finding areas of common ground, to remove some of the differences and to emphasise the similarities while tackling the conflict and working towards the solution’. Good interpersonal communication skills help to create an understanding between persons in conflict whereby they can make common ground and have a better understanding of whe re the other party is coming from. Dwyer (2009, p. 175) explains that ‘Conflict expressed and addressed in ways that respect relationships and consider as many needs as possible is positive and constructive’. In order to achieve common ground, emphasise similarities and work towards conflict solutions, the communication climate must be positive and both parties must be willing to resolve the issue. The role of Interpersonal Communication in Conflict Resolution In order to communicate effectively with others a sound understanding of your own self concept is required. Self concept can be described as your â€Å"self image†, it is the mental picture that you have of yourself. Yahaya, Azizi, Ramli and Jamaludin (2009) explain that ‘Self-concept refers to the totality of a complex, organized, and dynamic system of†¦ Interpersonal communication is defined by Brooks and Heath (1993) as â€Å"the process by which information, meanings and feelings are shared by persons through the exchange of v erbal and nonverbal messages (as cited in Dickson and Hargie, 2003, p.1). In order to demonstrate my understanding of effective and non-effective communication skills I have chosen to analyse a dialogue between a seasoned policeman and a hardened criminal taken from the movie Heat. It is deep and meaningful interaction between two adversaries. After much deliberation I have narrowed down my analysis to the use of rapport building, self-disclosure and empathy, verbally and non-verbally. I will also attempt to identify the barriers to communication in this dialogue and explore the reasons why these skills were used ineffectively, and suggest how they could have been improved upon. Rapport-building is defined by Robbins (1986, p. 207, as cited in Study Guide) as ‘the ability to enter someone else’s world, to make him feel that you understand him, that you have a strong common bond’ I think it is at the very core of effective interpersonal communication because it ‘is one of the most important features or characteristics of unconscious human interaction’ and without it the purpose of the interaction cannot be achieved. It is ‘commonality of perspective, being in â€Å"sync†, being on the same â€Å"wavelength† as the person with whom you are talking’ (http://www.inspirationalsolutions-lp.co.uk/theimportanceofrapport.pdf). Following that line of thinking it is essential to establish rapport as soon as possible in a didactic interpersonal conversation, whatever the purpose of the discussion is – to learn, to relate, to play or to help (De Vito, p.80). The very first sentence that Hanna says demonstrates an attempt to establish rapport â€Å"Howya doing?† (he does not wait for an answer and continues talking) â€Å"Whaddaya say I buy you a cup of coffee?†. He is wearing casual jeans and a white sweatshirt. First and foremost, congratulations of your engagement. I am very excited that you chose to reach out to me for advice in understanding interpersonal communication with each other before you get married. After taking classes for interpersonal communication Nicholas Epley explained the differences this way, â€Å"Our problem in communicating with friends and spouses is that we have an illusion of insight. Getting close to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual understanding† (2011 para. 8). There are a lot of books that one could read but in all actuality a successful relationship is based on the two people entering the communion and realizing that marriages take hard work and dedication, no matter how easy it looks. I will advise you on how to mold the following steps such as learning your role in the marriage, actively listening, opening up to your partner about your feelings, and choosing your words wisely into your everyday life which can produce a successful relationship; all this and effective communication is completely up to you. My first major topic for you to always remember is that you must listen to your partner. You probably find yourself asking over and over are you paying attention to me. Did you hear anything that I said? Do not fret over that because every person in a relationship has asked the same question. You may not like what he or she has to say but to have a positive relationship you must listen actively, critically, and empathically. Now please allow me to explain to you what I mean by those terms. Kathy Sole tells us that listening is important to the conversation because it creates meaning between both people (2011). When you want to have an in depth conversation with your spouse, you need to eliminate all noise, make eye contact, actively listen means to truly think about what you hear. Critically listening ties into actively listening because you understand what your spouse†¦ Assertiveness Assertiveness is a simple skill that requires a lot of practice to perfect. Basically, assertiveness requires us to speak our minds, to do so in such a way that the meaning of our communication is clear. Hopefully our expressed wish is acknowledged, but this is not necessary for us to be assertive. To achieve assertive communication, we have to state what is in our minds; that is, our thoughts and feelings. Advanced assertiveness is when we ask for what we want regardless of whether the â€Å"recipient† understands what we communicate, and regardless of whether or not we get what we want. Complete assertiveness requires both levels intellectual and emotional communication. The workplace presents both a challenge and potentially some relief when it comes to being assertive. On the one hand, we work with others, usually often, so there is some sense of familiarity. Yet, we do not live with them. There is a certain built-in interpersonal distance. With acquaintances at work, the challenge is to ask for what we want or at least state our opinion, more or less at intellectual, pragmatic levels. We tend to leave out the personal side, because our relationships are not that personal. From this standpoint, assertiveness is easier because there are less personal consequences. We can state our case and others likely will not take our message so personally. This is truer if the issue at hand is small. It is also more likely to be true of communications among co-workers of equal status. If there are other good elements; that is, more interpersonal warmth, bonding and empathy, talking to the boss can be assertively successful. But we need some slightly deeper personal connection to the boss to make this work, to grease the wheels of information exchange. The workpl ace presents a challenge to being more interpersonally intimate with co-workers who may not really be so friendly. The same is true with bosses that have different levels of power†¦. An Interpersonal relationship in the health care environment is based off the relationship between the people you work with, such as the staff, patients, and doctor. Your interpersonal relationship between you, the coworker, and patients is very important and crucial within the health care environment, you must be able to â€Å"treat your clients with respect†, â€Å"do not be rude or ever shout at them†, never disclose any type of information about a patient to a client†, and â€Å"have feelings for the patients† (2004)(1.3.8). In order for the patients to feel comfortable you must treat them with a certain level of respect and make them feel as comfortable as possible, such as have close relationship with all the patients and staff. For example ask how their day is going, or give them positive feedback about any questions they might have or need help with so he or she is always satisfied with the service. Your â€Å"perspective† in the health care industry is very important and crucial to your coworkers and clients, and you always want to provide them with the best â€Å"quality of care†. Next, a supportive relationship rather than a defensive relationship in the health care environment is more appropriate, and I say this because to be defensive with the coworkers, patients or staff will make that person feel â€Å"uncomfortable†, :†guilty†, or even hostile. On the other hand, a supportive relationship is something you want to have with the clients, staff, and patients because you always want to be able to support them with positive feedback, such as are â€Å"supportive† when a patient asks for advice or a particular type of treatment show â€Å"recognition†, â€Å"acknowledgement†, and â€Å"endorsement†. Supportive is more of a positive feedback and defensive is negative feedback, and defensive or negative feedback is som ething you do not want to happen, you always want to remain supportive, positive, and assertive with people at all times. Assertive style and its appropriateness in health care†the preferred†¦ Course Hero has millions of student submitted documents similar to the one below including study guides, practice problems, reference materials, practice exams, textbook help and tutor support. communication1 Interpersonal Interpersonal Communication in your Relationship Christy Fobert COM 200 Instructor Youngs 6/22/11 Interpersonal communication2 Dear Jason and Amber, I am writing in response to your request asking for some advice on interpersonal communication in your relationship. As you know my husband and I have been attending classes that help with communication in relationships. We also believe we can give you some dire advice based on our own personal experience since we have six years behind us. Being a newly engaged couple and asking for advice before marriage lets us know you are both serious in committing to one another. This also makes it seem you are both committed to keeping your relationship alive and well. The best advice I can give you is to keep your communication alive and well. In this letter I will give you some advice on the concepts of good interpersonal communication. I will explain what we have been learning in our classes and also what I can explain to how we have experienced this in our relationship. The first basic but important skill to communication is listening. Listening to each other shows that you both respect one another and care about what the other is saying. There are three important types of listening and they are: active, critical, and empathetic. The first skill that we will discuss pertaining to the listening is actively listening. Active listening is assertive communication that develops a sense of trust. In my personal relationship letting your spouse know that you are listening lets them feel important and build trust within your relationship. Actively listening in your communication will allow you to build trust because of the openness that it builds. Openness within active listening makes your spouse feel a†¦ Effective communication in healthcare is essential to deliver good patient care. When delegating tasks to co-workers, one needs to be clear and precise. When people have a full understanding of what their job is, they will perform better and patients will get better outcomes. Without effective communication we are setting up our fellow co-workers for failure and our patients as well. Effective communication is necessary to convey the importance of instructions and task to co-workers so they can fully understand the importance of their task and the steps necessary to manage the task. Effective communication is also necessary to be able to understand what our patients are telling us, and how to better listen and relate to them. Rashad is attending the team meeting and is being assertive in trying to clarify his role as assistive personnel. He is showing that the nurses would be able to rely on him to help with their patients during the shift for hygienic care and toileting. He is using an assertive form of communication with speaking up during the meeting. This assertiveness is quickly shot down by the aggressive communication of RN, Robin. Her comments of calling Rashad only an aide is belittling and then stating that those cares are the role of a RN farther the belittling. Robin continues to say that Rashad is not expected to think but to do as told is not uplifting at all and developed into feelings of resentment. These feelings are expressed in Rashad’s new goal; of developing a plan to make Robin pay for her comments. Robin’s comments established a tone of superiority and dominance as she shows her expectations that only the nurses know how to think and that the aides should be more like robots to her commands. This aggressive style of communication hurts others and is used to set someone up to overpower†¦ Interpersonal communication is the type of communication that people use to communicate their ideas, thoughts, ideas and feelings to one another person. In Interpersonal Communication, you are dependent upon another person for the communication to be effective. With that being said I thought that I would have great interpersonal communication skills but sadly I do not. I thought I that I would have great interpersonal communication skills because most of the time I can tell how a person is feeling, try to understand how they feel, and what is driving them to feel that way. That is the reason why I wanted to become a social worker but I am glad that I am taking this class to understand my interpersonal communication skills better. I never really thought of interpersonal communication skills as being as important as they are. Whether we like it or not interpersonal communication a key skill for personal and professional relationships. What you say and what you don’t say both carry a lot of weight in communication. Having effective interpersonal communication means that you use both of these forms to your advantage and remain aware of your behavior throughout a conversation. With that being said there are three key points that I feel that I need to do a great deal of improvement on and they are overcoming my fear to speak, my eye contact, and being aware of my adaptors that I use and how I use them. The first thing I feel that would help my interpersonal communication skills is to overcome my fear to talk people that I do not know. I have to overcome this fear because if not I will never be able to become the great social worker that I can become. I feel that a great way for me to overcome this fear is by talking to strangers at work. By not saying anything or acknowledging my co-worker that I do not know is not sending a message good message to them. If I want to have effective interpersonal communication, I have to get†¦ Effective communication is important for psychological well-being for a number of reasons. Communication allows conveying our needs and feelings to others, as well as to respond to and respect the needs of others. Social supports are an important factor to decrease anxiety and depression. Communication helps to develop significant relationships with friends and family, as well as with romantic partners. Developing skills that allow communication between p eople that we trust allows for expression of emotions, as well as the ability to get feedback and support. Three very important skills are needed for communication. They are assertiveness, conversational or verbal communication skills and nonverbal communication skills. Two attitudes are important in developing communication skills that are effective. These skills are being proactive and thinking win/win. Proactive means taking responsibility for your life. A person can choose to be happy and successful. In the win/win situation, society has labeled life as either a clear winner or a loser. In business, the goal is to provide the best service or product to maximize profits and beat the competition. This plays a major role in why society thinks that in interpersonal interactions it too is a game in which there is a clear winner and loser. A mature and confident way to approach human reactions is thinking win/win. This approach allows for both parties to succeed and achieve goals. Being assertive is one of my greatest assets. I have learned that a closed mouth will never get fed. When being assertive it is not necessary to raise our voice or shout at other people. Being threatening is not assertive either. Many people confuse aggression with assertion. Being assertive allows speaking in normal tones, respecting personal distance and the ability to state opinions needs or wants.