Careers
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Anne Belcher reveals the skills – listening, reflecting and clarification – that will help you to get your message across in the most effective manner
Communication has always been a vital part of nursing. As students, we learned about therapeutic communication and the differences between sympathy, empathy, and rapport. I remember struggling with those differences and when to use each most appropriately with patients, families, classmates and lecturers. Now, I apply these principles at work with staff. Clear communication involves three elements: listening, reflecting and clarification. Communication at work can be adversely affected by such factors as power dynamics between the speaker and the listener, time pressures and occupational stress. Being aware of and sensitive to these variables can lead to more effective communication. For example, acknowledging a power differential between you and your team of staff when introducing a new treatment technique might lessen tensions in that relationship. If, however, you are the junior staff nurse suggesting the introduction of a new treatment technique, you need to share your ideas as deriving from your clinical expertise, your knowledge of the literature and professional education. Pressure of time requires that your arguments for introducing the technique are well prepared,
GETTY IMAGES
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The GRRRR listening model Greeting – begin with hello and the use of the other person’s name. Respectful listening – allow the speaker to finish sentences without interruption but acknowledge the speaker’s points by saying yes or okay. Make eye contact, nod, and use other receptive body language. Review, also called validation – summarise the information being conveyed to indicate that you understand the message correctly and to give the speaker the opportunity to correct any misunderstanding. Request more information. Reward – you might say ‘thank you’ or ‘I appreciate your comments’, or invite further conversation by saying ‘call me if you need to’.
RESOURCES Boynton B, Kerrick B (2009) Confident voices: The Nurses’ Guide to Improving Communication and Creating Positive Workplaces. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform The GRRRR listening model tinyurl.com/GRRlistening
organised and presented succinctly. Providing background written material means you can focus on the decision to be made rather than the background to the project. This approach is helpful when your audience may be distracted by work pressures, fatigue or factors outside the workplace. These issues can adversely affect attention span and patience. Acknowledging these factors in your listeners gains their attention and heightens their willingness to listen to your case for change.
Good workplace communication also involves attentive listening. It is often difficult to hear another person out as we are usually formulating our response to their point as they speak. The GRRRR for great listening model provides a structured approach to listening, helping to focus on how the message is received (see box) as well as its delivery. Practise these skills with a colleague about an issue on which there is disagreement. I have found practising active listening means I am more likely to reach consensus on issues about which we are both passionate but perhaps disagree.
Non-verbal messages
All non-verbal behaviour – our gestures, stance and posture – how loudly and how fast we speak, proximity between speaker and listener, degree of eye contact – can send messages that enhance or contradict our spoken words. Even silence is a form of non-verbal communication. There is evidence to suggest listeners attach more importance to non-verbal elements of our communication because they reveal our true feelings. The strategies I have reviewed are applicable to face-to-face communication with individuals and with groups. Enjoy learning about, practising and enacting them so you can express yourself more effectively NS Anne Belcher is associate professor in the School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
NURSING STANDARD august 13 ::other vol uses 28 no 50 :: permission. 2014 63 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 08, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
If you would like to write for our careers section email the editor at [email protected] or @NScareersEd
Anne Belcher reveals the skills – listening, reflecting and clarification – that will help you to get your message across in the most effective manner
Communication has always been a vital part of nursing. As students, we learned about therapeutic communication and the differences between sympathy, empathy, and rapport. I remember struggling with those differences and when to use each most appropriately with patients, families, classmates and lecturers. Now, I apply these principles at work with staff. Clear communication involves three elements: listening, reflecting and clarification. Communication at work can be adversely affected by such factors as power dynamics between the speaker and the listener, time pressures and occupational stress. Being aware of and sensitive to these variables can lead to more effective communication. For example, acknowledging a power differential between you and your team of staff when introducing a new treatment technique might lessen tensions in that relationship. If, however, you are the junior staff nurse suggesting the introduction of a new treatment technique, you need to share your ideas as deriving from your clinical expertise, your knowledge of the literature and professional education. Pressure of time requires that your arguments for introducing the technique are well prepared,
GETTY IMAGES
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The GRRRR listening model Greeting – begin with hello and the use of the other person’s name. Respectful listening – allow the speaker to finish sentences without interruption but acknowledge the speaker’s points by saying yes or okay. Make eye contact, nod, and use other receptive body language. Review, also called validation – summarise the information being conveyed to indicate that you understand the message correctly and to give the speaker the opportunity to correct any misunderstanding. Request more information. Reward – you might say ‘thank you’ or ‘I appreciate your comments’, or invite further conversation by saying ‘call me if you need to’.
RESOURCES Boynton B, Kerrick B (2009) Confident voices: The Nurses’ Guide to Improving Communication and Creating Positive Workplaces. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform The GRRRR listening model tinyurl.com/GRRlistening
organised and presented succinctly. Providing background written material means you can focus on the decision to be made rather than the background to the project. This approach is helpful when your audience may be distracted by work pressures, fatigue or factors outside the workplace. These issues can adversely affect attention span and patience. Acknowledging these factors in your listeners gains their attention and heightens their willingness to listen to your case for change.
Good workplace communication also involves attentive listening. It is often difficult to hear another person out as we are usually formulating our response to their point as they speak. The GRRRR for great listening model provides a structured approach to listening, helping to focus on how the message is received (see box) as well as its delivery. Practise these skills with a colleague about an issue on which there is disagreement. I have found practising active listening means I am more likely to reach consensus on issues about which we are both passionate but perhaps disagree.
Non-verbal messages
All non-verbal behaviour – our gestures, stance and posture – how loudly and how fast we speak, proximity between speaker and listener, degree of eye contact – can send messages that enhance or contradict our spoken words. Even silence is a form of non-verbal communication. There is evidence to suggest listeners attach more importance to non-verbal elements of our communication because they reveal our true feelings. The strategies I have reviewed are applicable to face-to-face communication with individuals and with groups. Enjoy learning about, practising and enacting them so you can express yourself more effectively NS Anne Belcher is associate professor in the School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
NURSING STANDARD august 13 ::other vol uses 28 no 50 :: permission. 2014 63 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 08, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
