Unit 1
Introduction to Communication in Health, Social Care or Children’s and Young People’s Settings.
1.- Understand why communication is important in the work setting.
1.1.- Identify different reasons why people communicate.
Depending on the source where you seek the information there are from 3 to 6 main reasons to the communication. The one I prefer is the following classification:
1. To engage relationships: To make connections with others, To give or get support, comfort, understanding, friendship, love…
2. To give or get Information: To share facts, instructions, reports, announcements, lectures, interviews, news…
3. Philosophical reason: To develop your own thinking, to learn, to share your ideas turning your thoughts into words, to reflect your opinion…
4. To persuade: To influence others, to get people to do or believe what you want them to, to ask someone to do a task, to change the mind of another one about a subject…
5. For entertainment: for enjoyment and fun. Tell jokes, watch movies, chat with friends, read a book…
6. As a social ritual: Saying thing that are expected to be said like “Hi,” “Excuse Me,” “Please,” “Thank-you,”. And also in the nonverbal environment shake hands, wave, smile…
1.2.- Explain how effective communication affects all aspects of own work.
It is important the effective communication in all the relations in the work:
Communication Carer-Individual: When a carer is able to communicate effectively, he can explain all the aspects of the care to the individual making him fell safer and less anxious. The carer can also give advices to the individual so the care goes further than the calls or visits.
Communication Individual-Carer: When an individual has an effective communication with the carer, the carer can provide the best care giving what the individual need, responding to the changes in the need of the individual and providing support in the emotional level.
Communication Carer-Carer: When there is an effective communication between carers the performance of the care will be also more effective. The work will become safer by the help from one to each other with the moving and handling, not repeating the same task twice… It also helps making a good team so the carers will be happier to work together.
1.3.- Explain why is important to observe an individual’s reactions when communicating with them.
The nonverbal is biggest part of the communication. An individual can express discomfort or pain with his reaction even if he doesn´t want to say it in words. For the carer, observe the reaction gives a good feedback on how he is developing his work. When the carer find an individual who is not able to speak or has problems with the verbal communication (for example, aphasia), is crucial for the carer to seek for every little sign to make sure that he covers all the needs and desires in the best way for the individual.
2.- Be able to meet the communication and language needs, wishes and preferences of individuals.
2.1.- Find out an individual’s communication and language needs, wishes and preferences.
Real work situation.
2.2.- Demonstrate communication methods that meet an individual´s communication need, wishes and preferences.
Real work situation.
2.3.- Show how and when to seek advice about communication.
Real work situation.
3.- Be able to reduce barriers to communication
3.1.- Identify barriers to effective communication.
There are different groups of barriers: Environmental (noisy room or too hot or too cold environment, an uncomfortable chair…), verbal (people who speak very quickly, different languages…), interpersonal (prejudices about the race, sex, age of the other person…), semantic (the words can have two or more meanings), physiological (very low voice, deftness…), psychological (the receptor can have prejudices about the subject or the transmitter can be too much excited to speak properly),
3.2.- Demonstrate ways to reduce barriers to effective communication in different
