‘The uses of verbal and non-verbal communication in care settings’
Communication skills are defined as; verbal and non-verbal words, phrases, voice tones, facial expressions, gestures and body language that you use to interact with another person. Effective communication is essential in all care settings as part of building and maintaining good patient-colleague relationships. These skills help both patient and colleague to learn about each other and understand each other, so that they can therefore meet each other’s needs.
Care workers use different forms of communication when working with their patients. These two forms of communication are Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.
Verbal communication is the ability to use words to present ideas, thoughts and feelings to another person in a variety of environments and to any given audience. Effective listening however, is much harder than speaking and requires a lot more skill than just waiting for the other person to finish talking, so you may begin.
Examples of verbal communication within care settings may include the following: * Providing support to others * Dealing with problems and complaints * Contributing to team meetings * Responding to and answering questions * Discussing and talking about the best treatment for patients
Non-verbal communication is a way of communicating ideas and opinions without talking. This may be through body language, facial expressions, and tones of voice, hand gestures, signs/symbols and other visual aids. It is very important that care workers are able to recognize even the slightest change in body language, especially if the patient is speech impaired and can not verbally communicate when they are in pain or upset. Care workers must also be aware of the messages and signals that they give off by their own body language when working with others.
Written communication; an example of verbal communication, is essential