5 Components of Effective Communication in Health Education and Counseling

August 30, 2022

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5 Components of Effective Communication in Health Education and Counseling

Communication is the first device of all well being, vitamin, and wellness educators, coaches, and counselors. Communication can also be a talent that well being professionals can develop to enhance their consumer relationships and total success.

In contrast to casual, day by day communication with family and friends, communication in a healthcare surroundings, together with well being teaching and counseling, have to be rigorously thought out and practiced. There are a number of communication interactions that should happen earlier than purchasers start to work towards their desired well being behaviors, and communication with their help community continues to have a central position of their success.

What, precisely, does well being communication entail? What are a number of the parts of efficient communication that well being, wellness, and vitamin coaches and counselors can apply and implement?

This text introduces you to a mannequin of well being communication to higher perceive what takes place as you work together together with your consumer. Then it affords 5 parts of well being communication as introduced by well being training and counseling consultants.

The Mannequin of Well being Communication

All types of verbal communication, and plenty of types of written communication, could be divided right into a four-step course of that repeats itself as a cycle.

Dr. Thomas Gordon summarizes these steps succinctly:

The speaker says phrases.

The listener hears the speaker’s phrases.

The listener decodes the speaker’s phrases, that means the listener types an concept about what they thought the speaker meant.

The listener processes the data additional, typically with a forwards and backwards with the speaker, to come back nearer to understanding what the speaker truly meant.

In well being communication, and in communication usually, the speaker’s supposed message could be distorted in three other ways:

First, the speaker’s phrases could not have been heard correctly by the listener. Possibly there are distractions, language and pronunciation variations, or loud noises.
Second, the speaker could not talk clearly resulting from problem expressing ideas. This will happen resulting from language limitations or coping with advanced feelings, concepts, or ideas the speaker has not absolutely processed.
Third, the listener can distort the message throughout the decoding course of, which is when the listener analyzes and types conclusions about what the speaker is attempting to speak. Through the decoding course of, biases and previous experiences can have a powerful affect on the listener’s interpretation of the speaker’s message.

Vitamin, well being, and wellness counselors and coaches can keep away from a number of the communication roadblocks by implementing the important thing parts of efficient communication and counseling defined within the subsequent part.

Key Parts in Efficient Communication in Counseling and Teaching

Observe: These parts described under are primarily based on the textual content Nutrition Counseling & Education Skill Development by Kathleen D. Bauer and Doreen Liou. That is additionally the textual content utilized in a number of AFPA certifications programs.

Use Counseling Focuses and Intentions When Formulating Responses

Whenever you talk together with your consumer throughout a training or counseling session, it’s not like having a dialog with a buddy or member of the family. It’s important that you just modify informal communication behaviors like speaking about your self, making exaggerated facial or verbal expressions, and being fast to fill within the silence with questions, feedback, or anecdotes. When your consumer shares info with you or asks a query, you’ll be able to formulate your response by first figuring out a counseling focus and intent.

A counseling focus is the place you place your emphasis on a response throughout a counseling and training session. The main target ought to align with the broader counseling targets or what your consumer, together with your help, desires to realize in your counseling classes.

A counseling intent (or intention) is the rationale for choosing a specific response.

The counseling focus and intent ought to each align with the counseling focus, trauma-informed communication principles, and your private communication model.

Counseling response intents can fall into three predominant classes:

To acknowledge. You may select to affirm, present respect, establish observations, rephrase what you’re listening to, and affirm the worthiness and significance of your consumer’s emotions and experiences. Right here, you might need to construct your relationship additional, encourage your consumer to proceed speaking, and build rapport.

Instance: I hear you saying that your physician didn’t acknowledge your knee ache, although that’s the reason you set the appointment. That should have been irritating.

To discover. If you wish to make clear an concept, receive extra info, or acquire deeper perception, you may need to ask questions, present info and ask for his or her ideas, or ask for clarification.

Instance: You talked about that you just don’t really feel protected going to the gymnasium locally heart to train. Would you’re feeling comfy elaborating extra on why you’re feeling unsafe?

To problem. In the event you acknowledge a possibility in your consumer to suppose critically about their ideas or actions, acknowledge contradictions, or need them to consider taking a special plan of action, then your response intent could possibly be to respectfully problem your consumer.

Instance: Thanks for sharing your frustrations with the variety of servings of greens within the weekly meal plan your dietitian gave you. I see right here in your meals frequency questionnaire that you just had been accustomed to consuming the identical variety of servings of greens earlier than beginning your meal plan. Has one thing modified? Or is there one thing else in regards to the meal plan that’s bothering you?

Use Efficient Nonverbal Communication and Conduct

Physique language researcher Albert Mehrabian was one of many first scientists to interrupt down the parts of face-to-face dialog. He discovered that communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and seven% phrases solely.

Vocal communication contains components like quantity, stress, inflection, and velocity. Nonverbal communication contains physique language, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, vitality stage, posture, and even the area you permit between your self and one other individual.

Basically, individuals are inclined to belief nonverbal conduct greater than verbal communication as a result of a lot of our physique language and facial features just isn’t below aware management.

As well being coaches and counselors, it’s crucial that you just study to concentrate on your nonverbal communication and undertake behaviors which can be conducive to constructing belief and rapport together with your consumer.

Listed here are some examples of nonverbal modes of communication and ineffective and efficient behaviors for well being counselors and coaches:

Area: Ineffective behaviors could be leaving an excessive amount of area or getting too shut. Efficient behaviors could be roughly arm’s size or the space your consumer communicates is comfy for them.
Posture: Ineffective behaviors could be slouching, too inflexible, or leaning away out of your consumer. Relaxed, attentive posture with a slight lean towards your consumer communicates open ears and deal with the consumer.
Eye contact: Ineffective behaviors embody absence (equivalent to trying down at notes or your cellphone for lengthy intervals of time).
Facial features: Ineffective behaviors could embody facial expressions that don’t match your emotions, a scowl, or a clean, absent look. Efficient behaviors could be facial expressions that match your or your consumer’s emotions or a relaxed smile.

Harmonize Verbal and Nonverbal Conduct

Coaches and counselors can apply harmonizing their physique language with that of their consumer. That is known as synchrony.

Synchrony is a well-liked gross sales method to ascertain rapport with potential purchasers. It’s because once you mirror your consumer’s physique language, quantity, and silence, you enhance your consumer’s sensitivity and talk empathy.

Don’t mirror your consumer’s nonverbal conduct to the acute or to a degree the place it seems you are attempting to be extra like them than your self or mocking your consumer.

Analyze Nonverbal Communication Conduct in Your Consumer

Identical to your consumer will consciously or subconsciously pay attention to your nonverbal communication, you need to make a degree to make word of your consumer’s nonverbal communication conduct. By observing their nonverbal communication, you’ll acquire clues about what your consumer is considering or feeling.

Take a couple of moments to consider what a number of the following nonverbal behaviors may imply about an individual’s ideas or emotions:

Crossed arms
Clenched fists
Eyes broad and eyebrows raised
Lack of eye contact
Smile
Shaking head
Biting the lip
Tapping ft
Slouching
Sitting on the sting of the seat

Nonverbal communication norms differ throughout cultures and can be a mirrored image of behavior or of a well being situation. For instance, you may suppose {that a} consumer who’s sweating profusely could be very nervous, however they could have a thyroid dysfunction or be experiencing scorching flashes.

On this sense, it can be crucial that coaches don’t soar to conclusions when observing nonverbal communication however as a substitute use them as clues. When applicable, and with their permission, you’ll be able to ask about nonverbal behaviors you might discover.

Determine and Reduce Communication Roadblocks

Communication roadblocks are obstacles people put up that block communication, depth, and exploration of sure subjects. They’re the antithesis to the principles of motivational interviewing.

For well being, wellness, and vitamin counselors and coaches, communication roadblocks might embody imposing their very own views, opinions, biases, judgments, experiences, and prejudices on purchasers. They dismiss the consumer’s experiences, opinions, values, and feelings and place the counselor’s or coach’s as the last word reality.

Some examples of roadblocks embody:

Ordering or commanding
Warning or threatening
Giving unsolicited recommendation
Lecturing
Moralizing or preaching
Withdrawing, distracting, or altering the topic

In sure circumstances, some roadblocks are applicable should you really feel the counseling session must take a brand new course. Attempt to keep away from utilizing roadblocks abruptly, and solely achieve this after you could have listened to your consumer and understood their message.

Important Takeaways

Nonverbal, vocal, and oral communication work collectively to ship messages to others. Listeners interpret these components consciously and subconsciously after which course of them to know others, type their very own opinions, and determine reply.

For well being educators, counselors, and coaches, this course of have to be taken very severely, as it’s a central component in supporting purchasers to undertake wholesome conduct adjustments.

On this article, you realized in regards to the central components of well being communication, and also you realized about a number of the parts that may enable you be a more practical listener and speaker. These abilities are additional developed in AFPA’s teaching and counseling certifications.