Communication Skills

Dr Adibah Hanim Bt Ismail

Family Medicine Specialist

Department of Family Medicine

PPSP, USM

COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION

.

Definition

Imparting/conveying /exchanging ideas Imparting/conveying /exchanging ideas knowledge knowledge

Successful passing a message from one to Successful passing a message from one to anotheranother

What are the most common ways we communicate?

Spoken Word

Visual Images

Written WordBody Language

Methods

• Nurse/doctor with patients

• Person teaching/lecturing

• Writing letter

• Telephone/machine

• Radio/TV

• Newspaper/book

• Two friends talking

Process of sending and receiving information among people…

SENDER RECEIVER

Feedback

receiver sender

A. PROCESS

The rapportThe rapportThe timeThe timeThe messageThe message--clear,concise,correct, clear,concise,correct,

unambiguous and in contextunambiguous and in contextThe attitudes of both communicator and The attitudes of both communicator and

recipientrecipient--caring,empathy,respect,interestcaring,empathy,respect,interest

B. DOCTOR/PATIENTRELATIONSHIP

Doctors

Warm and sympatheticWarm and sympatheticEasy to talk toEasy to talk toIntroduced themselvesIntroduced themselvesAppeared self confidentAppeared self confidentListened to the patient and responded to Listened to the patient and responded to

their verbal cuestheir verbal cuesAsked questions which are easily Asked questions which are easily

understood and preciseunderstood and preciseDid not repeat themselvesDid not repeat themselves

C. ENVIRONMENT

Waiting roomWaiting roomThe appearance of consulting roomThe appearance of consulting roomPhysical barrierPhysical barrierPrivacy Privacy –– interruption(phone)interruption(phone)

D. MESSAGE

Content and nature may be uncomfortable Content and nature may be uncomfortable for the doctor/patientfor the doctor/patient

Language difficultyLanguage difficultyComplex problemComplex problemEmotional problemEmotional problemUncertainty and doubt e.g sexuality, Uncertainty and doubt e.g sexuality,

malignancy,abortion etc.malignancy,abortion etc.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD COMMUNICATION GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLSSKILLS

PURPOSE

To give information

To alleviate distress

To convey feelings

To form and maintain

relationships

To persuade

To make decision

ReassuranceTo solve problem

How To Improve Your Communication Skill

• Learn to identify which types of situations make youuncomfortable and then modify your behavior to achieve positive results

• It is a critical step in improving your communication skill.

• You can learn to become aware of behaviors in other people that prompt you to respond in negative ways and modify your own behavior to turn the situation into a positive experience.

1. AWARENESS OF YOUR OWN INTERACTION WITH OTHER PEOPLE

•do not fear apologizing for errors in judgment or insensitive actions

•Asking others for honest feedback about the way you interact with others can be very helpful.

•Accept the negative feedback along with the positive and make changes accordingly.

2. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR

• Positive body language is extremely important in your interactions with other people.

• If your words and your actions do not match, you will have a difficult time succeeding in social situations.

3. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IS EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT AS VERBAL COMMUNICATION

• You must fight the urge to respond immediately and really listen to what the other person is trying to communicate.

• Offering suggestions or criticism before you are certain of the other person's intent can only lead to frustration forboth parties

4. GOOD LISTENER

Eliminate distractions

Concentrate

Focus on the speaker

Maintain an open mind

Look for nonverbal cues

Do not react to emotive words

Ask questions

Sit, so you can see & hear

How can we improve our listening skills?

Take notes

Ask for clarification

Avoid prejudices

PARAPHRASING

Restating what another has said

in your own words

PARAPHRASINGPARAPHRASING

Restating what another has said

in your own words

SUMMARIZING

Pulling together the main points

of a speaker

SUMMARIZINGSUMMARIZING

Pulling together the main points

of a speaker

QUESTIONING

Challenging participants to tackle & solve

problems

QUESTIONINGQUESTIONING

Challenging participants to tackle & solve

problems

Paraphrasing

Is simply restating what another person has said in your own words.

The best way is to listen carefully to what the other person is saying.

Practice some of the following techniques on your colleagues.

Use initial phrases such as:

In other words…

I gather that…

If I understand what you are saying…

What I hear you saying is…

Pardon my interruption, but let me see if I understand you correctly…

Summarizing…

“If I understand you correctly,your main concerns are…”

“These seem to be the key ideas you have expressed…”

Put all important ideas, facts or data together to establish a basis for further discussion and/or review progress.

Listen carefully in order to organize the information systematically.

It is useful for emphasizing key points.

Questioning…a critical facilitation skill

1. Close-ended generally result in short yes/no or other one word answers. They should be used only when you want precise, quick answers. Otherwise, they inhibit thought.

2. Open-ended invite an actual explanation for a response. Questions that begin with “how”, “what” and “why” are typical.

There are two basic types of questions:

Practice your questioning skills…

Rephrase the following closed questions to make them open-ended:

1. Are you feeling tired now?

2. Isn’t today a nice day?

3. Was the last activity useful?

4. Is there anything bothering you?

5. So everything is fine, then?

Answer

1. What tires you out?2. What kind of weather are we having today?3. How was the last activity useful?4. Tell me what is on your mind.5. Why are you looking so happy?

• It cannot be accomplished overnight

• You will become discouraged and overwhelmed if you attempt to change your entire personality all at once.

• Choose one or two traits at a time and work on those over a period of time.

• Learn to take advantage of your personal strengths and make a positive impact on others.

5. COMMUNICATION SKILL IS A PROCESS

• Use your positive personality traits in your interactions with others.

• Good communication and great listening skills are the most important tools you can use in improving your communication skill.

6. MAXIMIZE YOUR POSITIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS

ConclusionConclusion

You can learn how to improve your communication skill by developing excellent listening skills, learning to resolve problems and conflicts, understanding body language, and accepting responsibility for your own negative behavior.

Determination and self-awareness will make your desire to improve your communication skill a reality.

MAK CIK, INI ADA 3 JENIS UBAT.Yang warna putih, mak cik ambik sebiji bilasakit sahaja.Yang warna kuning, mak cik makan 2 biji 3 kali sehari, setengah jam sebelum makanmakanan.Dan yang warna oren ini, mak cik makan 1 biji 2 kali sehari, selepas bangun pagi dansebelum tidur malam.