SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP

Effective Communication with the Elderly

Effective Communication with the Elderly

It is quite a challenge sometimes to talk or to

communicate to elderly because you may

need to consider and deal with differences in

ages, ideals, priorities and perhaps even

hearing or mental cognition issues on top.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Don’t close your mind and take it for

consideration that your elderly friend or loved

one may have been raised differently.

Generation gap is another issue why it can be

hard to communicate with the elderly but once

understood, you will find many wonderful

things to learn from one another if you just

take the time to listen.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

When talking to the elderly, look them in the

eye. We all know that looking in the eye when

talking to someone is a sign of respect. That

is a general rule and that has always been and

forever will be. An honest person will never be

afraid to look you in the eye and it is also a

sign of a genuine interest in the person you

are conversing with.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Do not use or maybe you could turn off you

mobile devices, more often than not they do

not understand these things and they will feel

destructed by it and worse will feel like they

are playing second fiddle to a piece of

equipment that can lead to them to shut down

and lose interest in talking to you.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Always be respectful, this applies to everyone.

You might confuse this with being sweet and

condescending but these two are different

from respect. Listen to them, or maybe if

fitting you can place your hand on their hand

or arm. Remember, they are your elderly and

not your children so never call them names

like, ‘sweetie’, ‘honey’, or ‘darling’, that will be

rude!

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Never ever shout at them, if they have

troubles hearing you or the surrounding get

them hearing aide. They may pull away from

communicating with anyone and even become

bitter if this is taken for granted. And they

may not admit this so it is up to you to notice

if they cannot hear properly anymore or have

them checked regularly.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Never make them feel that being there for them is

a duty for you, make time for them and understand

if they are feeling lonely. You must make them feel

that you truly care and you really want to be there

for them. Make the conversation and the whole

time enjoyable. Ask questions and make them feel

that you are interested, maybe their past lives and

stories when they are younger and their husbands

or wives. Talk about happy memories. You will find

yourself learning a lot from them.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Ask them advice; this will make them feel they

still have worth because they may be feeling

worthless by this age of time. Remember to

input into things and be genuine about it,

maybe you can word it like “I really need your

advice” vs “I wanted to ask your advice” can

make a big mental difference for ANYONE.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUPEffective Communication with the Elderly

Springhill Care Group