Download Innovative Practices. Pushing past I don`t know

Pushing Past ‘I Don’t Know”
DIRKSE
Counseling and Consulting, Inc.
Effective Communication Strategies
Gabriela Taylor –Dirkse Counseling & Consulting
William Ramis- Portland Oregon
Introduction
Communication - the human
connection - is the key to
personal and career success.
Paul J. Meyer
▪
The Basics of Communication
No matter how experienced we are, we should always review the basics, to continually
strengthen our own foundation, to be the most effective to those we support.
Four Basic Communication Skills
▪ Thinking
▪ Listening
▪ Speaking
▪ Non-Verbal
By understanding the basics of each component, we are better able to find the
source of breakdowns in communication
Communication Skills # 1: Thinking
-Most people do not consider thinking a
communication skill!
-Having a strong understanding of the ideas in
your head, or the concepts that you wish to
illustrate is the starting point to effective
communication.
-If a person does not have an idea straight in their
own mind, it makes expressing it to others ,
almost impossible.
Example: If you are asked to describe an animal to
a friend , but you do not have an animal in mind, it
would be nearly impossible to clearly
communicate this information.
If a person doesn’t have an
opinion to make- how can
we expect it to be
communicated?
“What do you want to do
for work?”
Communication Skills # 2: Listening
-An ability to use active listening and
to be able to understand the purpose
or intent of what the others are
saying is key in communication
-Only when information is heard and
understood is response
communication effective
-You cannot truly communicate with
someone if you do not understand
the purpose of the communication
It goes both ways- both parties need
to understand the intent by truly
listening !
It is important to understand
the environment, and take the
time to understand distractions
to listening !
Communication Skills # 3: Expressing/Speaking
-Actually choosing the words, pictures, or
symbols is the next step in
communication
-Although this is the piece that most
people focus on when talking about
communication , research has shown that
the nonverbal portions of communication
can actually change the meaning of what
is expressed
-Although this piece is important, we
must remember that this is not the step
where communication is successful or not
successful
Be Careful! Just because someone speaks with
clarity and confidence, or uses assistive
technology or pictures with ease, does not
always mean they are confident or sure in the
content of what they are expressing!
Communication Skills # 4: Non-Verbal
- Non –verbal communication is
the bulk of our communication
(93% of it, to be exact!)
- Our bodies speak volumes –
everyone is constantly sending
signals, whether they are
intending to or not
- Body language (in conjunction
with tone) can easily cancel out
the things being expressed !
Putting the 4 Steps Together
-Understanding the role of each
will help you map out where the
break down is occurring
-It is our job as providers to
identify these basic
communication skills for both
the people we serve and
ourselves so that
communication is effective
-Once we identify which skill is
compromised, we can than
develop a plan to work around it
If we become complacent, and do not take
the time to assess , all communication with
the customer moving forward will not be as
successful as it could be.
Listening
Success
Thinking
Expressing
Non-Verbal
Where's The Holdup?
-Did they
understand?
-Do they know what
I asked?
-How do I know
Distractions?
Noise? Lights?
People?Smells?
Traffic?Lighting?
-Can they express?
-How do they express?
-Any “go to” answers
-Do they have the means to
express?
Thinking
Expressing
Listening
NonVerbal
Tone?
Face?
Body ?
What am I doing?
What are they doing?
Barriers to Communication
“To effectively communicate, we
must realize that we are all
different in the way we perceive
the world and use this
understanding as a guide to our
communication with others.”
-Tony Robbins
▪ Although there are countless barriers to communications
in our day to day interactions, for the purposes of this
presentation we are going to focus on the barriers that fall
under the following definition :
▪ The things stopping us from getting the bulk of our
information from the perspective of the client themselves.
•
•
•
•
•
Stereotypes
Attitudinal Barriers
Learned Helplessness
Support Team
Professional Complacency
Stereotypes
Stereotyping is an attitude that alters communication because of a general, non
specific opinion applied to a particular group.
1. Individuals who experience ID/DD struggle with open ended questions
What information could be lost when we assume and only ask yes or no questions?
2. Individuals on the spectrum struggle with communication, keep questions direct,
focused, and literal.
This stereotype takes away the ability to work within creative ideas, which is where most job carves
develop from
3. Individuals with limited ability to use expressive communication get
overwhelmed by too many questions
 Expressive communication and thoughts are two separate things, questions evoke thoughts and
ideas, doing this limits the persons ability to be supported towards their goals
Attitudinal Barriers
▪ Attitudinal barriers are behaviors or
perceptions that prevent providers
from communicating properly.
▪ Attitudes are commonly formed by an
individual's opinions or personal
feelings on a subject or person and can
be difficult to alter.
IGNORANCE
▪ When attitudinal barriers override the
client perspective, communication will
not be effective, and services will no
longer be client centered.
▪ It is imperative to understand both your
own personal attitudinal barriers, as
well as being mindful of your clients
potential attitudinal barriers
SPREAD EFFECT
FEAR
EMOTIONAL EDITING
Attitudinal Barriers
Ignorance: People with disabilities are often
dismissed as incapable of communicating clearly
without the opportunity to try
The Spread Effect: People assume that an
individual's disability negatively affects all of their
abilities, including communication .
Emotional Editing: Using past experiences as the
soul source of information in the current situation.
Fear: The fear of offending, challenging or pushing
too hard
Learned Helplessness
Decide what I
am good at
Choose for
Me
Learning to tolerate the
reality of the environment
and those in it, due to the
information received on a
regular basis.
Tell people
what is
important
to me in a
job
Speak for
me
Identify my
interests for
me
Act for me
You are the professional , what are you afraid of?
We often find ourselves scared to:
We often let ourselves:
▪ Speak up against a support team member
▪ Get lazy
▪ To push our clients , to challenge them
▪ Be hurried
▪ To offend them
▪ Ignore the client
▪ Take risks
▪ Take the easy route
▪ Push boundaries
▪ Become complement
▪ Change our own professional routine
▪ Be afraid of prolonged silence
▪ Get bullied away from effective practices
Developing a Communication Plan
Step 1: Identify Key Members of the support team
Step 2: Use the communication interview support tool
Step 3: Develop a communication plan
Step 4: Implement communication plan & assess
Communication Interview Support Tool
Go to the source!
-Who does that person
communicate the best with ?
Do the ground work ! It’s not about
what works for you, or about what
past experience you have, it’s about
what works for them!
-Where do they communicate the
best ?
Professional
Experience
-In what situations are the
individuals barriers to
communication least impactful ?
-What are the unique and specific
aspects of this persons
communication patterns?
Support Team
Creating a Plan