Overcoming Barriers to Communication
Communication essay
There are many factors that may influence communication including environment, culture, abuse of power, drugs and alcohol, misunderstanding speech, body language, emotional difficulties, health issues and sensory factors. In health and social care settings there are strategies used to overcome these barriers. Some strategies may be more effective than others. It is important to know the strategies and be able to overcome these barriers in health and social care settings because there are many situations where communicating with a person may not be easy.
Environmental- It can be hard to communicate if there is a problem with the area such as the light, space and sound. For example it could be hard to communicate with someone in a noisy room. Poor lighting could lead to not being able to see a person’s facial expressions clearly. Not having enough space could lead to being uncomfortable because there might not be enough personal space for the people talking. Awkward seating could be uncomfortable for example chairs being unsuitable. It could be hard to talk to someone who is to close or at a distance. The room mat be to hot or cold with could affect peoples mood and ability to communicate. There could be distractions such as phones, another person being in the room or background noise. These barriers can be overcome by going to another room or seeing if you can change the amount of light, space and noise in background. Chairs may be able to be replaced with other chairs for more comfort. The temperature of a room may be adjustable by turning on heating or air conditioning. Distractions like phones and TV can be switched off/muted. If you are communicating with more than one person organise seating so that you can all see and hear each other. It may be easier to communicate with smaller groups of people at one time. The negatives of using these strategies are that it may not always be possible to make the required changes to the room for example
There are many factors that may influence communication including environment, culture, abuse of power, drugs and alcohol, misunderstanding speech, body language, emotional difficulties, health issues and sensory factors. In health and social care settings there are strategies used to overcome these barriers. Some strategies may be more effective than others. It is important to know the strategies and be able to overcome these barriers in health and social care settings because there are many situations where communicating with a person may not be easy.
Environmental- It can be hard to communicate if there is a problem with the area such as the light, space and sound. For example it could be hard to communicate with someone in a noisy room. Poor lighting could lead to not being able to see a person’s facial expressions clearly. Not having enough space could lead to being uncomfortable because there might not be enough personal space for the people talking. Awkward seating could be uncomfortable for example chairs being unsuitable. It could be hard to talk to someone who is to close or at a distance. The room mat be to hot or cold with could affect peoples mood and ability to communicate. There could be distractions such as phones, another person being in the room or background noise. These barriers can be overcome by going to another room or seeing if you can change the amount of light, space and noise in background. Chairs may be able to be replaced with other chairs for more comfort. The temperature of a room may be adjustable by turning on heating or air conditioning. Distractions like phones and TV can be switched off/muted. If you are communicating with more than one person organise seating so that you can all see and hear each other. It may be easier to communicate with smaller groups of people at one time. The negatives of using these strategies are that it may not always be possible to make the required changes to the room for example