People communicate so they can make relationships with others. Individuals communicate with others so they can give and receive information and instructions, also so they can understand and be understood. Communication is a significant part of a carers role so that they are able to meet the service user’s needs. Without communication two or more people will not be able to engage in a conversation.
Communication affects relationships in many ways in the work setting. You will have to build relationships with colleagues, managers and service users and any other people you could be working with. To work effectively with the service user you will need to build a good relationship. If you do not communicate well with a service user this could limit their ability to connect on any meaningful level and that could lead to a conflict. When there is miscommunication or no communication in a work place this could mean the service user would suffer.
There are many factors to consider when promoting effective communication, for example a service user may have a hearing impairment so you may be required to change your tone of voice or use sign language and body gestures to communicate effectively with them. As well if a person is blind you may need to adjust the way you speak so they feel comforted and safe. Factors are all things such as body language, eye contact, tone of voice, body position and other things that may help the service user to understand when communicating. You can tell a lot about a person from the way they act or from the gestures they use. You can use body language to tell whether a person is feeling uncomfortable, upset, angry, depressed and a wider range of emotions depending on the body language you are witnessing from a service user.
If a service user is religious or has a belief in something this may change the way communicate with them. They could find it offensive to use certain words or do things in a certain way. You may have to adjust the way you work around certain service users to make sure you do not cause offence or insult them in any way. For example a Christian may not like it if you use Gods name to express yourself.
When trying to communicate with a service user there may be different barriers in the way preventing effective communication happening. A communication barrier is something preventing you from having full understanding conversation with the service user. This could be because a service user does not speak your language so you may need to have a translator available. Another example could be if the person is death. You may need someone who can do sign language present so the service user