communication skills for health professionals 2022 (1)

Communication for Health
Professionals
Overview of Communication Skills

By
Venance C. Mwalyego
Outline
● Identify communication types and strategies for
personal and professional purposes
■ Overview of communication skills
■ Identify types of communication
■ Tips for effective communication
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, students are
expected to be able to:
Define communication
Explain the importance of communication
Identify types of communication
Describe the communication process
Describe effective communication skills
Identify barriers to communication and how to
overcome them
Definition of key terms
● The root of the word “communication” in Latin is

communicare, which means to share, or to make
common (Weekley, 1967).
● Communication is defined as the process of
understanding and sharing meaning (Pearson &
Nelson, 2000).
Definition of key terms…...
● Communication is a two-way process of reaching mutual
understanding, in which participants not only exchange
(encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings
but also create and share meaning (Lamrini and Loanna,
2014).
● Communication is the process of sharing information,
thoughts and feelings between people through
speaking, writing or body language.
Effective communication
● An Effective Communication is a communication between two or more

persons wherein the intended message is successfully delivered, received
and understood.
● Effective communication is defined as communication between two or more
persons in which the intended message is −
● properly encoded
● delivered through appropriate channel
● received
● properly decoded and understood by the recipient(s)
Why are
communication skills
and English important
in a healthcare context
in Tanzania?
Definition, Importance and Types of
Communication
• What is communication
– Communication is the process of exchanging:
 Information
 Thoughts
 Feelings
 Ideas
 Instructions
 Knowledge
Or can be defined as
Communication is any process in which
people share information, ideas, and feelings
Involves written, spoken, body language,
personal mannerisms and style
Broadly classified as verbal and non-verbal
communication
Communication is necessary to
Share knowledge and experiences
 Build relationships
 Motivate
 Inform
 Teach
 Persuade
 Entertain
 Inspire
 Giving or receive direction
Elements/components
Various elements constitute communication:
Source/sender
Message
Channel
Receiver
Feedback
Noise
Setting
Commonly the sender is also a receiver
Source/sender
• Sends messages
• Sometimes receives messages as well
• Sharing info, 2-way process
Message
• Made up of ideas and/or feelings that the
sender/receiver want to share
• Often represented by symbols
– Verbal symbols: words in a language
• Concrete symbols representing objects
• Abstract symbols representing ideas
– Non-verbal symbols: communicating without
words: eg facial expressions, gestures, postures,
vocal tones, appearance, etc.
Channel
 Route by which message travels to recipient
 In face-to-face communication, the primary channels
are sight and sound: looking and listening.
◦ Radio
◦ TV
◦ Records
◦ Newspapers, magazines
 Some channels communicate non-verbal messages:
◦ Handshake (touch)
◦ Appropriate clothing (sight)
◦ Respective/sorrowful/charming voice (sound)
Feedback
Feedback is the response that senders and
receivers of messages give to each other.
Examples:
◦ Joke-smile, laugh
◦ Greetings-reply
Allows participants to know whether
messages/feelings have been shared in the
intended manner
Question: Which communication channels/media
offer the best opportunities for feedback?
Noise
• This is interference that keeps a message from
being understood or accurately interpreted
• External noise: from environment eg siren
• Internal noise: within the participants, eg
their own ideas or worries
• Semantic noise: caused by people’s emotional
reaction to words (eg offensive words)
Setting
• Environment within which communication
occurs
• Formal settings eg classroom, auditorium
• Informal settings: unplanned
• Communication changes when the setting
changes (Can you give examples?)
• Setting relates to ‘power’ in a communication
Types of communication
Communication can be classified
• By style and purpose into
– Formal
– Informal
• By methods and media used into
– Verbal (language with words)
– Non-verbal (symbols, signs etc)
– Written (letters, reports, articles etc)
– Visual (pictures, diagrams etc)
• By type of participants/audience, into
– Vertical (superior and subordinate)
– Horizontal (among peers)
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal
• Small group
• Public
Public Communication
• A speaker sends messages to an audience
• Messages are highly structured
• Channels are the same as in interpersonal and
small group communication, but are more
exaggerated
• Requires expansive audio-visual aids: PA systems,
slides, PowerPoint etc
• Limited opportunity for verbal feedback,
commonly non-verbal feedback
• Formal setting
Mass communication
• Highly structured messages and large
audiences
• Utilize the mass media: radio, tv, newspapers
• Many people are involved in creating the
messages (eg writers, editors, producers,
publishers, directors etc)
• Feedback is very limited and delayed
Recap question
• Discuss the features of interpersonal
communication. What are the merits and
demerits of interpersonal communication as
compared to other types of communication
Barriers to effective communication
2. Psychological Barriers
a. Mental state of the sender or receiver
i. stress, anger, joy
b. Personality of the sender or receiver
i. assertive, shy, outgoing
c. Information overload
3. Physiological Barriers
a. Physical state of the sender or receiver
i. Hearing and speech impediments
4. Physical Barriers
a.Environmental factors
between sender and
receiver
i.Geographic distance
ii.Background noise
5. Attitudinal Barriers
a.Preconceived notions
b.Stereotypes
c.Assumptions
d.Lack of motivation
e.Cultural differences
Tips to be good
communicators
Group assignment
• Group 1&2 & 3: Outline the main steps involved
in a communication process and discuss the
importance of each step in teaching/learning
• Group 4&5&6: Discuss the principles of effective
communication, clearly illustrating with practical
examples, their application in teaching practice
• Group 7&8&9&10: Describe the communication
levels in health care, and their significance in the
training of health care personnel
Tips to be good communicators
Speaker/Sender:
●Think about who you are communicating with
●Face the listener, don’t obstruct your mouth, make appropriate eye contact,
use appropriate volume
●Be aware of your body language
●Use simple, clear, specific language
●Check written messages before sending
●Ask yourself: should I call, message, email, or speak face-to-face?
Tips to be good communicators
Listener/Receiver:
●Think about who you are communicating with
●Be an “Active Listener” - fully concentrate on what the speaker is saying by
facing the speaker and giving feedback
●Non-verbal feedback - smiling, nodding, eye contact, avoiding distractions
●Verbal feedback - ask clarifying questions and rephrasing what the speaker has
said
●Write things down
●Give the speaker/sender the benefit of the doubt
References
● Communication Barriers (2019). Retrieved from

http://phicare.com/competencies/communicationbarriers.php
● Communication Activity – Drawing Twins (2016). Retrieved from
https://slco.org/uploadedFiles/depot/admin/fHR/employee_university/EU_Com
municationDrawingTwins.pdf

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Communication for Health

Overview of Communication Skills

● The root of the word “communication” in Latin is

● An Effective Communication is a communication between two or more

● Communication Barriers (2019). Retrieved from

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