Communication has existed since time immemorial. By definition, communication is a process through which people connect and impart thoughts and opinions as well as messages from one party to another. The process in its entirety is cyclic, whereby a message is channelled to a recipient from the sender, the recipient then decodes the information and gives feedback to the sender of the message. The skill enables us to make friends, connect with people while at the same time this skill enables us to make things happen in our lives. The skill is also important in various occupations and jobs and is an important element of effective leadership as it enables people from various occupations to communicate in an effective and supportive manner thereby fostering good and proper working experiences (Dwyer, 2013). Having effective communication skills has often been associated with the accomplishment of set goals as well as build strong relationships both personal and occupational.
During one of my school holidays, I served as a volunteer in a nursing home for the elderly. One of the most important skill that this task required is the ability to connect well with the elderly individuals and to achieve this I had to possess effective communication skill that will help me connect with the patients so that they can feel confident about sharing their areas of needs to enable me to liaise with the other practitioners to come up with proper intervention approaches for their problems. The first order of the business in the setting was to develop a good rapport with the elderly. To achieve this, I had to start having small talks with the patients that enabled us to bond at a level that was far beyond the nursing home. I inquired about their families, as well as activities that they find interesting. At the same time, I had to bring in various living values and skills such as empathy, assertiveness, sincerity, and trustworthiness. These values form the foundation of quality relationships, more so empathy (Dilenschneider, 1996).
In this sense, I ensured my relationship with the elderly patients in the nursing home was satisfying for both the parties. I provided my patient with enough and appropriate feedback thereby fostering mutual understanding. The application of the interpersonal skills in communication, therefore, stimulates and promotes healthy relationships. By definition, these skills are the abilities acquired by individuals to socialise effectively with other people (Hargie, 1997). However, as illustrated in the above literature, communication is a two-way street, we have to have an encoder, and a decoder of the information presented. However, at some point of interactions, this might not be the case especially when one of the parties is not aware of what makes communication effective for both parties. This was the case with one of my patients. Allow me to label him Mr X due to the sensitivity of the patient’s records as well as ethical practices in the social work practice.
Mr X just like the other patients in the nursing home was elderly and had an Asian background. I was assigned Mr X by the nurse in charge, and my responsibility was to ensure that he was fed well on a daily basis. As a protocol, before starting our relationship, I had a one-on-one sitting with Mr X. considering her cultural background I strived to establish a good interpersonal relationship with him which aimed at not only benefiting the patient but also making our future interactions successful and meaningful. My first gesture of our interaction was to enquire I he had taken a meal at that time of the day. However, I did not get any verbal feedback from him, however, reading his body movements and body language it was clear the patient had no idea of what I was talking about. This was when it struck me that the patient had a hearing difficulty considering his age bearing this in mind I had to turn the tables and engage my emphatic listening gears.
Having failed in verbal communication, I had to engage in tactile communication, while at the same time pushing body gestures and movements that could be universally decoded regardless of an individual’s background (Hargie, 1997). So I tapped his shoulder while wearing a smile to bring out a sense of friendliness and accommodation to my patient. At the same time, I worked on my voice projection so that the patient gets to be well. At this point, I started receiving positive feedback from the patient. I had him articulate “yes” while at the same time nodding his head this was the point when I realised he needed a meal. The use of body movements and body language, as well as other non-verbal communication skills in conjunction with verbal communication, enabled me to enhance conversation between the patient and me. As illustrated by the incident with Mr X it is evident that non-verbal communication can help in improving mutual understanding between two people who are involved in a conversation, as they convey messages about the moods and feelings of the people as well as reactions of the people (Dwyer, 2013). My knowledge of the patient’s difficulties in hearing made me develop personalised communication strategies to eliminate the barrier that is caused by the patients hearing condition.
As demonstrated by the above scenario, in as much as people might consider communication a soft skill it might not be as simple as it looks. Lack of understanding of the various aspects of effective communication can culminate into serious miscommunication that can lead to a serious misunderstanding between the parties that are involved in communication. Moreover, the environment can cause serious hindrance to communication. These hindrances can be as a result of the interference inform noise as well as an inappropriate projection of the voices of the parties that are communicating can also interfere with the effectiveness of communication. Additionally, when communicating with different individuals aspects of the individual’s lives must be taken into account. First, the socio-cultural background of the individual, for instance, Mr X has an Asian background. This required me to understand a few elements of the culture, for instance, approaching the elderly with respect; moreover, the personal beliefs of the person being communicated to is important in the improvement of communication between two parties or even more parties who are involved in communication. Communication difficulties should also be considered in the sense that if an individual particular sensory organ does not function well, communication should be conducted using other means for instance if one is a hearing difficulty, the use other sensory organs such as the eye and the skin contact.
In conclusion, communication goes beyond talking and getting feedback from the people with whom we are communicating with. It is important that both the parties involved in communication understand various factors that make communication effective to both the encoder and the decoder of the message. Moreover, the communication process is cyclic, and information has to reach the targeted recipient who in return has to convey a feedback to the sender of the message. In case of any interferences both in the environment as well as difficulties related to the impairment of sensory organs, the entire communication process can be interfered with.
- Barker, S. & Hartel, C. E., 2004. Intercultural Service Encounters: An exploratory Study the customer experience. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 11(1), pp. 3-14.
- Dilenschneider , R., 1996. Dartnell’s public relations handbook. s.l.:Dartnell’s corporation .
- Dwyer, J., 2013. Communication for Business and the Professions: Strategies and Skills. 5 ed. Australia : Pearson .
- Hargie, O., 1997. The Handbook of Communication. s.l.:Psychology press.
- Ryan, E.B., Giles, H., Bartolucci, G. and Henwood, K., 1986. Psycholinguistic and social psychological components of communication by and with the elderly. Language & Communication, 6(1-2), pp.1-24.
- Barker, S. & Hartel, C. E., 2004. Intercultural Service Encounters: An exploratory Study the customer experience. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 11(1), pp. 3-14.
- Dilenschneider , R., 1996. Dartnell’s public relations handbook. s.l.:Dartnell’s corporation .
- Dwyer, J., 2013. Communication for Business and the Professions: Strategies and Skills. 5 ed. Australia : Pearson .
- Hargie, O., 1997. The Handbook of Communication. s.l.:Psychology press.
- Ryan, E.B., Giles, H., Bartolucci, G. and Henwood, K., 1986. Psycholinguistic and social psychological components of communication by and with the elderly. Language & Communication, 6(1-2), pp.1-24.