Effective Communication Is Vital - Essay Example

Reflective Diary Reflective Diary October 4, Reflective Diary about effective communication Introduction Effective communication is vital for both organizational and individual prosperity. It is through effective communication that I have been able to understand the world, people, and situations. Throughout the module, I learnt that effective communication helps in building trust and respect, resolving differences and conflicts, and creating environments where creativity, problem solving, affection, and caring can flourish. Effective communication is both a learnt skill and spontaneous rather than formulaic experience (Ley, 1988). People acquire the skills of communicating effectively through training and development; however, most of the learning is acquired through automatic learning in natural settings. In either case, effective communication has proved critical throughout my life, both in school and at home. Effective communication involves skills such as active listening, nonverbal communication skills, stress management, and emotional control. In writing this reflective diary, I used the Cook’s 4R’s of reflective practice because it is simple and straightforward to use. Cook’s model of reflection consists of four stages; these are recollection, reaction, reflection, and response. Recollection During the beginning of this module, I engaged in effective communication with my peers and tutors. Some cases required active learning among the peers as we progressed through the module. Communication with the Course Committee also required engaging in sending and receiving messages with great caution, as it was necessary to ensure both parties send and receive the messages in their exact forms. While we were making groups for role-play, it was sometimes difficult to reach amicable solutions to issues especially those that were characterized with conflicting decisions. We had to sit down as a group and discuss all issues that were affecting the process of our role-play. We accepted our individual differences and cultural diversities, and focused on the goals of our assignment. Effective communication was a critical ingredient in this process. The Course Committee advised us to seek clarification all the time in case we had any issues with preparation of the role-play and reflective diary preparation. I learnt various methods of communication in delivering messages. These methods include written, oral, and non-verbal communication. Written messages are the most frequently used mode of communication in organizations (Holliday, Hyde, and Kullman, 2010). The types of written communication include memos, letters, periodicals, bullet-ins, newsletters, and e-mails. I learnt that it is possible to improve written communication through using simple language, familiar words, illustrations and examples, and active words. Written communication is advantageous due to its tangibility and verifiability, availability of material for future reference, ability to store messages indefinitely, and suitability for sending lengthy and complex messages. Written communication, however, is time consuming in preparing messages, does not provide immediate feedback, and may sometimes be misinterpreted (Hugman, 2009). Oral communication involves passing messages through the word of mouth. Through oral communication, I realized that it was easy for us to communicate as information reached the audience immediately. Feedback was also immediate because the recipients were given opportunities to instantly gauge the information they receive. Non-verbal communication uses either body language or physical cues (Berry, 2007). Non-verbal communication is mostly complex as the signs may be misunderstood or misinterpreted, leading to receiving of the messages as they were not intended by the sender. The types of communication that were relevant during the module include formal, informal and grapevine communication. We used formal communication method when sending messages through the chains of command such as school administration and the Course Committee. Formal communication we engaged in was vertical, involving either downward or upward flow of information. Upward flow of information occurred when I sent messages to authorities while downward communication occurred when I received responses from the administration and course committee. Informal communication comprises of unofficial communication that occurs when organizational or institutional members are not in their official settings (Crawford, Brown and Bonham, 2006). There are no formalities followed in sending and receiving information. Grapevine communication is an informal communication that practically exists among the people, particularly cliques or gangs that have common ideas, facts, opinions, attitudes, suspicions, and directives. During the module, I engaged in grapevine communication with my peers through gossip, rumours, stipulation, and exchanging unofficial information. Using all the three ways of communication proved significance as it ensured exchanging vital information that would have otherwise not be passed through a single method. Reaction I was glad to learn various aspects of effective communication, especially active listening. Active listening involves the listener asking questions that are meant for further clarification (Adams, 2007). Cases where the listener just take in information in a passive mode do not constitute effective communication since communicating effectively requires both parties talking to one another until a consensus is reached. However, there are few cases where the speaker or sender of the messages can give detailed information concerning a particular aspect, and that information satisfies the listener’s requirements. I realized that through active listening, the speaker is able to receive feedback from the listener. Feedback is the response that enables the source to determine or evaluate the receptivity and understandability of the message (Russell, 2005). Feedback also enhances a two-way communication process to occur; if the receiver realizes that message was received incorrectly, they may intervene by correcting through the same means or through different channels. I was sometimes not happy with use of non-verbal communication when exchanging information. However, I learnt that non-verbal communication skills are crucial in enhancing the effectiveness of communication process. During the module, we used both non-verbal physical non-verbal communication and body language in transmitting messages. Physical non-verbal communication cues include traffic lights, posters, sirens, gestures, and warning signs such as “lecture in progress”, “role-play presentations”, “keep silence”, and “do not step on the grass”. Body language constitutes communication cues such as facial expressions, postures, eye movements, gestures, silence, and signs such as waving. These ways of communicating without necessary using words, especially silence, were prevalent among the classmates. Stress and emotions affected the quality of the message that the sender transmitted. I learnt that when the speaker is under stress, they sometimes mumbled some words in extremely low tones that listeners cannot get. Reflection Effective communication requires the communicating parties to have skills of managing their stress and emotions in order to ensure effective message delivery. I treated non-verbal communication with contempt because it just made me annoyed with group members. Most students nodded their heads in the gesture of acceptance or refusal, and that limited the contributive nature that should characterize group work. I think non-verbal cues should be accompanied with other forms of communication messages, written or oral, to make them understandable. Learning ways of effective communication is crucial to me as it made me a better speaker than I was before the module study. I now understand ways of handing various communication endeavours, advantages and disadvantages of each communication method and ways of tailoring every communication process to suit the context. Response The information I can share concerns understanding and recognizing the barriers to effective communication. I advise my colleagues and peers to accurately identify and recognize the barriers to communication if they want to enhance their communication effectiveness. Barriers to effective communication constitute both personal and environmental factors that hinder delivery and receptivity of the message (Hull, Redfern and Shuttleworth, 2005). These barriers cause defectiveness in the communication process, leading to distorted messages or general failure of communication endeavours. Barriers to communication can be categorized into language, psychological, physical, and systematic barriers. I covered a variety of these barriers during the module, which made me learn on how lack of communication skills can adversely affect the process of communication. The communication skills that most people lack include the ability to seek clarification, timely response actions and reflection during the communication process (Department of Health, 2001). Language barriers are caused by linguistic disparities, that is, the inability of one person to read, write, and speak another language (Department of Health, 1989). I think that even when speaking a common language, terminologies used may act as a barrier if the recipients do not understand them well. Psychological states of the communication parties influence the delivery of the message. People with personal worries and stresses may be pre-occupied with personal concerns; this may limit the ability of receptiveness or transmitting the message (Sapin, 2009). Systematic barriers exist in structures and organizations that are characterised by insufficiency and inappropriateness in systems and communication channels. Enhancing communication in the future will require studying and appreciating barriers to communication, and adjusting to ensure that the barriers do not cause further adversities in my communication endeavor. October 22, 2013 Reflective diary about the role-play and group formation Introduction I decided to use the structured model for reflection in writing this reflective diary. The model comprises of five stages: description, reflection, influencing factors, alternative strategies, and learning. I chose the model because it to examines a variety of elements such as aesthetics, personality, empirics, ethics, reflexivity, and environmental factors. Description We planned our role-play after watching an in class video about effective communication. The video was about the effects of poor communication and its associated costs. The instructor told us to form groups comprising of the number that was sufficient to play an incident of communication. I was among the first members who formed the group after requesting my fellow students to converge into group and demonstrate good and poor communication skills. The group comprised of my best friends in class. This made me appreciate the group since I was comfortable working with such a colleagues. The group agreed that each individual would decide the role to play instead of forcing members to assume particular responsibilities. My responsibility in the role-play was that of a patient that went to see the doctor concerning a particular medical condition. My friend who acted as a doctor was the leader of the group. Other group members acted as helper nurses and patients waiting to be served. Reflection The objective of doing the role-play activity was to enhance my understanding of the communication process and the consequences of poor communication. I intervened in the group activities by encouraging group members to be serious with group activities because it was through seriousness in role-play that we could learn essential skills for effective communication. I was happy after during after the role-play experience as it enabled me to achieve my objective of acquiring effective skills for communicating with the doctor. Influencing Factors Internal factors that influenced my decision to partake in role-play is my intrinsic motivation to learn through active participation, desire to score marks and need to show others that I can do great dramas. The external factors influencing the decision included the requirements of the instructions and avoiding the consequences of not obeying the module requirements. Evaluation My group was among the most congratulated groups. I believe that we scored exceptionally. This is evidenced by the excellent recommendation that we received from the Course Committee. The oral feedback that we received from the Course Committee was pleasing. After the role-play, we went to have drinks and snacks at the cafe. Learning I feel contented with the outcome of the experience. The role-play activity enabled me to identify my potential in drama and acting. I realized that I can pretend to assume various character traits in a drama or movie. The role-play experience made me remember the plays we used to do during our childhood; therefore, I realized I have the potential to do better in the future than in the past. I also learnt effective skills for communicating in health and social contexts are crucial as they enable all members to feel they are part of the group. November 5, 2013 Reflective Diary about Evaluation and learning from the role-play The role-play exposed me to critical factors that I should take into consideration when transmitting messages; maintaining clarity and asking the recipients if they have really understood what I have told them will ensure that I have delivered the right information and it has been received in the exact meaning I intended. In the past, I had encountered a similar problem; this occurred when I read instructions that were not complete on the examination paper. I ended up doing all questions from one section rather than of choosing one question from each section. Instead of seeking clarification from the examiner, I went ahead and did what made me fail. In the future, I will ensure that I concentrate on effective communication skills such as proper listening, responding, and clarifying in order to avoid chances of giving messages that are not clear. The role-play experience was one of the most streamlined activities that I have ever acted. The actual role-play took place in one of the halls as other students and the Course Committee watched the role-play. The seminal work requirements included students’ confirmation of the group membership and development of role-play scenario with all group members present. The course committee required the attendees to have passed on all items for discussion to the student representatives. Prior to presentation of the role-play scenario, the Course Committee also required that we rehearse the role-play scenario and ask any relevant questions where we were not sure of the requirements. Provision of tutorial guidance, confirmation of group times for role-play and guidance throughout the role-play presentation constituted the critical ingredients of our success in the role-play. Among the challenges that we encountered during planning and acting role-play include lack of responsiveness and poor coordination, particularly when I asked members to volunteer for various roles in the play. It was difficult to select participants for specific roles since some students were shy to act as doctors while others feared pretending to be sick. Cultures were prevalent in the classroom, as some students believed that assuming the role of the sick person would make them become sick. However, I was able to appreciate diverse viewpoints since I am well endowed with skills of cultural and behavioural diversity. The only way to solve the problem was to allow each member select the role they wanted to play. Again, another problem arose as more than one participant chose one role while other roles were left vacant. We took an initiative of convincing group members that that was just a role-play, and it had no connection to their outside life. Members appreciated and the activity successfully completed. February 17, 2014 Reflective Diary about Personal development during the module Introduction Personal development comprises of activities and actions that lead to improvement of self-awareness and identity, develop talents, and build human capital (Wheeler, 2006). Personal development also enhances employability skills, people’s living standards, and contributes towards the realization of dreams and aspirations. The module has made remarkable contribution in my personal development due to effective methods, tools, techniques, and programs that I adopted during my studies. I will reflect on personal development using Borton’s framework for guiding reflective activities. The model comprises of three steps: description, analysis, and self-awareness. The model is advantageous because it concentrates on the primary aspects of personal development, look deeper at the circumstances behind learning experiences and helps users in choosing the alternative courses of action for the future. Description and Self-awareness The primary content of the module was about effective communication with different client groups. Health care and social service centres receive various types of guests every day (Morrissey and Callaghan, 2011). These visitors vary in communication behaviors, styles, and attitudes in different periods, places, and contexts. During the module, I was introduced to the concept of effective communication, ways of ensuring effective communication and strategies of overcoming barriers to effective communication to ensure effective delivery of the message in a variety o contexts and people. Additionally, the module exposed me to issues relating to communication with children. This concept was taught together with the Children’s Act and parental responsibility. These are both social issues that are also a concern to health care providers (Moss, 2007). Introduction to Child Prevention and Gillick Competence proved necessary for my career development. Another group of people that effective communication is critical include persons with mental problems, sensory impaired and people with a memory loss. The module focused on the types of deafness and criticized the use of hearing aids. I realized that there are different ways of communicating with normal people in normal circumstances and normal people in grief or those approaching the end of their life (Piller, 2011). Some cases require specific facial expressions for passing certain messages; for example, when giving condolence speeches, speakers should be careful about choice of words. Similarly, drafting letters for weddings differs from condolences on choice of words to use. Analysis and Evaluation I appreciated adjustment to meet communication requirements of specific contexts, times and circumstances. Teamwork skills are not only important for my schoolwork, but also for my future careers. I also learnt the use of modern technology in enhancing the effectiveness of communication process. Since I began studying in this module, I have developed behavioural and cultural diversity due to working with students who have individual differences and diverse behaviors (Piller, 2011). Group work characterized most of the module activities, which enabled us to come together and share ideas, thoughts, and knowledge with an objective of achieving a common goal. Teamwork skills that I learnt are crucial in my personal development in terms of negotiation, influencing, group recognition, being sensitive to others’ feelings and communication. Team working skills are essential across all jobs and sectors. The ability to work with people and to adapt quickly to all circumstances of a business is increasingly becoming the pre-requisite for employment success. The necessity of teamwork is reflected in the different methods employers apply in assessing employers’ ways of working with others; these assessments are done during interviews and at assessment centres. Synthesis I need to continue working extra hard to learn further aspects of effective communication. I plan to study further about the use of technology to enhance my communication through electronic means. Wherever I am assigned a task, I will always embrace group work so that I can reap the benefits associated with working in teams. It is now my responsibility to seek further information about effective communication with various groups of people such as mentally retarded, people facing grief or at the end of life, persons with hearing impairment, and various users of mental health care services. I will seek to develop further the skills I acquired during the module in order to achieve personal development in my future career. References Adams, R. Communicating effectively, in Adams, R. [Ed] (2007) Foundations of Health and Social Care. Palgrave. Crawford P, Brown B & Bonham P (2006) Communication in Clinical Settings. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Department of Health (1989) The Children Act. London, HMSO Department of Health (2001) Seeking consent: working with children. London, HMSO. Holliday, A. Hyde, M. Kullman, J. (2010) Intercultural Communication. London Routledge Taylor & Francis Group [Online]. Available at http://catalogue.londonmet.ac.uk/record=b1575823 (Accessed: 8 March 2014). Hugman, B. (2009) Health Care Communication. London, Pharmaceutical Press. Hull, C. Redfern L and Shuttleworth A (2005) Profiles and Portfolios, A guide for Health and Social Care. 2nd edition. Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. Ley, P. (1988) Communicating with patients: improving communication, satisfaction and compliance. London, Chapman & Hall. Morrissey J & Callaghan P (2011) Communication Skills for Mental Health Nurses. McGraw Hill, OUP. Moss, B (2007) The context of values for health and social care, IN. Adams R [Ed] (2007) Foundations of Health and Social Care. Palgrave. Chapter 5 Piller, I. (2011) Intercultural communication. A critical Introduction. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University press. Russell, J. (2005) Introduction to Psychology for Health Carers. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Sapin, K. (2009) Essential skills for youth work. Sage, London. Wheeler, R. (2006) Gillick or Fraser? A plea for consistency over competence in children. British Medical Journal. 332, p.807  Read More