What are 5 communication techniques?

Effective communication by nurses is a mission-critical asset for delivering positive treatment outcomes. [1] This can only take place when nursing professionals proactively seek to sincerely understand their patients, and complement this with the passion, courtesy, and kindness that defines the best of their profession.

During medical engagements, it’s also important that nurses maintain patient confidentially. This may be accomplished by maintaining an acute awareness of the surrounding environment, and by being aware of nearby parties who should not have knowledge of the client’s personal information. This may include other patients, as well as non-stakeholder medical personnel.

Breaking Barriers for Effective Communication

Some health care organizations may still foster a culture that discourages employees from reporting negative events. [2] From an ethical viewpoint, patient safety takes precedence over loyalty to peers and superiors, especially when those individuals are not conforming to safety procedures.

As a step in promoting a culture of open communication, nurse professionals must display fortitude in reporting unsafe conditions and adverse events. In the modern caregiving environment, it is no longer acceptable to blindly follow instructions. Silence can lead to negative treatment outcomes, or worse – to a mortal event.

Nurse leaders can teach effective communication skills to practitioners, starting with the following five techniques.

Active listening

As a nursing professional, the desire to comfort patients can sometimes interfere with sound professional judgment. [3] In such instances, it is vital that practitioners compartmentalize their personal feelings regarding a patient or case. It is, however, important to attempt to understand medical cases from the perspective of the patient. Although occasionally difficult, understanding how a patient feels during a hospital visit is important for gaining an understanding of how that individual might think, or how that patient might respond to treatment. Nurses who can empathize in this way often find they can better treat patients on many levels.

Identifying Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues

Patients can relay important information by obvious means such as speech, and by discrete means such as body language or gestures. Verbal and non-verbal cues are the building blocks of nurse-patient rapport, and are important indicators for identifying client needs. By recognizing these verbal and non-verbal indicators, nurses can distinguish the true meanings behind what patients are saying, and how they are feeling. For example, if a patient avoids eye contact, it’s valid to assume they are afraid of something, or trying to hide from a circumstance they do not want to face.

Managing Conflict

Workplace conflicts typically arise due to such factors as limited resources, ineffective work practices, or exhaustion. [2] Ineffectual communication among the medical team can lead to poor treatment outcomes and, in some cases, patient deaths. Nurses (and all medical professionals) can avoid these unfortunate consequences by avoiding poor communication behaviors such as blaming, finger pointing, and misdirecting aggression. Instead, it’s a good practice to learn how to disagree respectfully with colleagues, especially when team consensus remains elusive.

Honesty and Openness

Nurse practitioners who have a positive self-image usually find it easier to be honest with themselves about their feelings. Positive self-image builds confidence and allows practitioners to ask for honest workplace feedback that may uncover opportunities for professional improvement.

This open and honest characteristic also allows nurse practitioners to accept and benefit from constructive criticism, all signs of a mature medical professional. Such individuals own their mistakes and quickly make amends. Additionally, a mature, professional demeanor makes it easier for nurses to learn from their missteps and avoid repeating errors in the future.

Sincere Empathy

By engaging people with thoughtfulness and genuine concern, nurses send the message that they truly care about helping patients heal. [1] It’s important that nurses present information in a way that is reassuring, expresses interest in patient welfare, and builds rapport. Although this empathetic approach may seem obvious, it’s not always easy to sustain these practices during busy shifts, or when delivering information about undesirable treatment outcomes.

Sincere empathy is essential for building a nurse-patient relationship that promotes healing. Nurses who display genuine concern foster an atmosphere where patients are more likely to participate in their own recoveries. Learning effective communication that is based on both experience and learned skills is part of every nurse’s duty to “do no harm.” Excellent communication skills also help practitioners improve the quality of care they deliver on a daily basis. In a modern, multicultural society, proficient and honest communication will always serve as a valued tool in the toolkit of the nurse practitioner.

Learn More

Health care is a dynamic and ever-evolving field, and more is now expected of nurse leaders. In fact, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has called for a doctoral level education to become the requirement for advanced practice nursing. Earning an online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) puts MSN-credentialed nurses like you at the forefront of the industry — prepared for leadership, nurse education, patient care, and to shape future policies and procedures in health care.

Recommended Readings

10 Tips for Nurses to Effectively Communicate with Elderly Patients
Understanding Clinical Nurse Specialists
How Nurse Practitioners Can Become Community Advocates

Sources:

[1] US National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health
[2]The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing
[3] RCNi

2) Being Proactive in Communicating with Employees Rather than Just Being “Approachable”

There is a story about Pixar’s President, Ed Catmull, from a Forbes article in which he talks about how his producers “felt that they’d been marginalized and disrespected throughout the entire production process” following the enormous success of the film Toy Story.The surprise here is that Catmull “always prided himself on being an ‘open door’ manager, ready and willing to hear out employee complaints and take action to rectify whatever situation came up.” However, the “open door” policy didn’t do anything to make employees feel more valued or respected.Even with an “open” door, there are numerous barriers to overcome before talking to a boss. As pointed out in the Forbes article, “you have to cross through the invisible barrier—not to mention an assistant or two—that separates him from the outside world, interrupt whatever they’re doing and then tell them something unpleasant. Nobody wants to do that.”These barriers keep employees from approaching managers, whether it’s because they fear repercussions for distracting a manager or because they think that the door isn’t really as open as the manager says.Rather than passively waiting for a sufficiently brave (or irritated) employee to finally risk being the bearer of bad news, managers need to go out and actively look for employee feedback. Just being able to initiate that conversation with employees is a critical communication technique that many first-time managers—and even some experienced ones—lack.

Taking the initiative shows an active interest in the needs of employees. This can help drive engagement with your leadership. It’ll also help you find out if there are major problems that need immediate fixes.

3) Active Listening

While you’re talking to employees and trying to get some insight into any potential problems, you’ll need to be able to use active listening skills—like asking questions when you need to have employees clarify something you don’t understand.Actually, this is a skill that’s important for everyone in the workplace to develop—not just aspiring managers. Asking a question isn’t something that you should be embarrassed about. You aren’t revealing your ignorance—you’re eliminating gaps in your understanding of a work-related topic.

Aside from asking questions, it’s important to work on your ability to read nonverbal communication cues and body language, and how team members emphasize words.

4) Writing Memos and Emails

One of the most underestimated communication techniques that managers need to hone is the ability to write memos and emails to employees. There are many situations in which managers simply cannot have face-to-face communications with employees. This is when being able to effectively and clearly communicate with workers via memo or email is crucial.Working on writing skills to be brief, but to also get across all the vital information, can help prepare you to be a more effective communicator. This helps when you need to engage with remote workers and workers who have schedules that make direct interaction difficult.

While memos and emails aren’t always the optimal means of communicating with employees, being able to write them effectively can be vital for keeping the whole team on the same page.

5) Negotiating Skills

Being a manager may mean that you’re now more dependent on others than you ever have been before—and they might not automatically follow, even out of respect for your newfound authority. As the saying goes, “respect is earned, not given.”Think about it this way: have you ever had a boss who made unreasonable demands or obviously tried to abuse their newfound “authority?” If so, did you respect that boss and do everything they said? For most, the answer to this question is probably “no.”Negotiating skills are a critical part of communicating with employees as you try to figure out the best possible solutions for yourself, your workers, your company, and your customers. Being able to work out a compromise can help drive employee engagement with work. This is because it shows that you are taking the needs of your employees into account—helping you earn respect.

These are a few of the communication techniques that any prospective manager should practice before taking on new job responsibilities. By working on these skills, you can put yourself in a better position to succeed when you become a manager.

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