Group Interaction Case Study

Communicating Effectively in Group Interaction

In my placement, group interaction took place in a staff and workers meeting to discuss how Mr.P was progressing and how his care plan was being achieved to the best of its ability. All workers involved were seated around a table as the discussion continued. Care Manager Tracy began to talk about Mr.P's care plan and how he has been getting on in the home. Feedback was given by several members of staff about how he has developed and became much more confident as and when he was approached and that he was getting along with other service users much easier.

As tracy opened the meeting with an introduction, this gave all the staff members time to think about what they were going to say and gave everyone a chance to participate and speak. Tracy also made it clear about the ground rules; one individual was to speak at one time and the atmosphere was to stay clear and positive. The objective of the interaction
was based on Mr.P and his needs. It was also made very clear that interruptions were not acceptable and everyones opinions should be valued and respected. This helped to set the tone of interaction and created a comfortable atmosphere.

As Mr.P has a hearing impairment, members of staff discussed how each individual communicated with him and how it effected the interaction. I told the group that one way I used to communicate effectively with him was to use the open ended question strategy. I explained that Mr.P gave very short simple answers as giving a full explanation was not entirely in his comfort zone. I then told them that using this strategy encouraged him to give a more full and meaningful answer. This also helped him to get his feelings out in the open in order to understand how to better his time at the residential home. Members of the group began to nod in agreement and take down notes from what I was saying; this shows that I was being listened to and my opinions and experience was being taken in by others. The language used in the interaction was very understanding as every member understood the power of the language used and how they used it in order to communicate effectively. The way each member spoke was also taken into consideration by the whole group. Many members focused on how the individual spoke and gave positive body language such as facing them and appropriate eye contact.

Assessed and Evaluated Communication and Interpersonal Skills in relation to each Interaction

It is important to look at how effective communication and interpersonal skills are used in interaction. There were many strengths in both the one to one and group interaction, but there were also weaknesses and it is important that they are recognised and that they have solutions in order to overcome them.

· Body language was positive throughout the whole one to one interaction and group interaction.
It ensured that the individual understood that they were being listened to. Body language also helps to recognise signs of discomfort in a service user or member of staff and this can be dealt with as soon as possible in order to stop conflict. The negative side to this body language would be that it could have been misinterpretated. It could have been misenterpretated if Mr.P or a member of staff moved frequently, in a nervous way, because of their lack of confidence, it could come across as being rude, leading to them being misjudged, causing an effect on how they are spoken to or treated. This can be overcome by making sure that not only body language, but the tone of voice used with it is positive as what is said can affect body language and postures and gestures can also determine how the tone of voice is given out. By doing this, misinterpretation can be overlooked and it will not be as easy to
misunderstand.

· Open ended questions were used as a very strong strategy as it ensured that the service user understood what was being discussed for their benefit and that they were not just agreeing with what was being said, but they were giving their opinion and it was being valued. It was also a massive benefit as it allowed the service user to communicate with members of staff more, helping them to slowly come out of their comfort zone; this being a massive achievement. Open ended questions can come across as interrogating. Asking a service user to expand on what they have already answered may make them feel like theyre opinion or answer is being questioned. This can be a huge misunderstanding but they may see it as being rude. It may also create confusion and tension as they may give the same answer and not intend on giving further information. This can be overcome by using this strategy only when the member of staff knows the service users comfort zone and are sure that they will not be offended by this.

· Eye contact in this interaction was based on focusing on the individual who is being communicated with. It allows the patient to feel at ease while they are speaking. Eye contact ensures that effective communication is carried out in a appropriate manner for the participant. It helps to understand that when they are speaking, theyre information and what they are saying is being taken into consideration. This is a huge strength in effective communication and interpersonal interaction as it allows the participants in the interaction to understand that they can communicate seriously or just for a friendly chat, either way, theyre needs are being catered for. The weakness for this is that the eye contact that is being sent out may be received as inappropriate as staring can be misplaced with focusing on the individual. To overcome this, appropriate eye contact should be given by giving them the right amount of proximity and