Unit_8

Unit 8: Promote Communication in Health, Social care or Children and Young People’s settings Learning Outcome 1: Understand why effective communication is important in the work setting Assessment Criteria 1 – Written Question Identify the different reasons why people communicate Before thinking about the different reasons why we communicate, we need to think about what communication is. It can be defined as transferring information. This can be through exchange of thoughts, messages, feeling etc. The way we transfer information is by speech, signals or writing, to express yourself so that it is clearly understood. Methods of communication (body language, speaking, writing or visual aids) We use body language to communicate effectively. It is important to know about body language, as it is an essential part of communication, individuals may get stressed when the surroundings are noisy and chaotic, this may be obvious in their body language, as they cry, withdraw and show signs of stress. The distance between you and other people is important, so being too close might invade personal space and seem threatening, Eye contact is important for communication, too much eye contact and it becomes staring, to little eye contact and it becomes avoidance. Touch is important. Some people are very tactile, and like being touched and touching. Others regard that as being invasive. Physical gestures differ from culture to culture; it can offend different cultures in different ways. Facial expression is important, especially with young children and babies, who need high levels of facial expression, for example a big smile that to an adult would seem exaggerated might be appropriate to a baby, Speaking - the words we use need to be clear and straightforward. People whose first language is not English, And young children may not understand common expressions for example it’s raining cats and dogs. The tone of voice is also important, and the speed of speaking may need to be slowed down. Pitch of voice is important babies and toddlers like high pitched voices, that adults may find annoying. Writing – It is important to be aware that little children and babies obviously cannot read and write and that adults may have come from a different culture and language and may not have a fluent grasp of English. Signs, letters reports should be in straightforward, clear, simple language, A worker may need tactfully to read this out loud to the recipient. For example one way of doing this would be to say shall we sit down together and go through this letter. Visual aids - In order to communicate effectively, it might be necessary to call in people with specialist knowledge, for example interpreters, translators or those who can communicate with hearing impaired, or deaf people. There are a number of ways in which communication can be helped. Makaton project publishes visual aids, which illustrate the vocabulary, it using this it is important to note that body movement, body position and facial expressions are vital. Another system that can be used is Picture Exchange Communication (PECS),this relies on the learner presenting an picture of an object they want for example a picture of a glass of milk, might mean I would like a drink of milk. This is also used for children and adults who have Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Singaloing is also a sign supporting system that like Makaton is based on British Sign Language (BSL) One Way – Memo, fax, e-mail and letter Two way – Phone call, in- person Collaborative – Team meetings, consulting, decision making, group problem solving Communication plays a vital part in our life – for exam a baby cries when hungry. It is vital that we as humans can communicate. People communicate for different reasons, which are as follows: To teach: We communicate to impart knowledge and to teach. This way of communication allows future generations to acquire the knowledge and expand on it, Examples of this our Information and what products are safe to eat and hoe to invent. To learn: Communication is also used in the other direction for the reason to learn and understand. People use communication to question and gain knowledge from other. This includes asking a teacher questions. To relate: One of the most important reasons we communicate is to build relationships. These relationships, friendly, strictly professional but all of them require communication to build a basis. (shared understanding) Some others reasons why people communicate • To maintain and promote good working relationships • To encourage the children to communicate effectively • To ensure that everyone knows where they stand • To get their point across and ensure safety at work • To help people understand how you are feeling and act accordingly • To work together • To prevent errors and accidents • Express wants and needs • To help build and maintain trust • To negotiate and liaise with others Where people meet together in groups, Colleagues and children in nursery settings, then the way which communicate works becomes more complicated. There are many more interactions between individuals and collectively between sub groups within a larger group. There will be powerful people, and less powerful people. This is where bullying might immerge. One way of making sense of this is to think about Tuchman’s theories of group development. • The first stage is forming - A quiet group , everyone is assessing each other and working each other out • Storming - the group maybe challenging, noisy, difficult. There may be a power struggle going on, where people are trying to work out what the group rules are. • Norming – By now the groups should be more settled, the rules and norms of the groups should have been decided. People know what acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in that group is. When working with children it is important that adults know what the rules of behaviour should be, and encourage children to observe them by appropriate modelling. • Performing - Norms have been worked out and and the groups performs its tasks, efficiently and well. • Mourning- This is an additional to Tuckman’s model and take is on a stage further. When someone joins the group or leaves it, there might be a period of mourning, that is an awareness of loss either of a previous group dynamic or of a particular individual that are not there. This might lead on to another stage • Reforming – The group might need to back to the storming stage to re-establish dynamics, and norms, before they can perform, effectively again. This applies to staff when they form into groups and to children in a childcare setting. Understanding these dynamics makes it more likely that by knowing what’s going on something can be done to prevent any of the worst incidents, such as bullying, exclusion.