Download Lesson 10 Communication Skills

Warm-Up
• List as many ways that you can think
of that people communicate with
each other. Circle the three that you
do most.
• Think back 5 years. Were these the
three that you used most then. What
about 10 years ago?
Communication Skills
Lesson 10
Objectives:
• Classify forms of communication and apply
criteria for using passive, aggressive or assertive
communication
• Analyze and demonstrate communication skills
needed to build and maintain healthy relationships
with family, friends, peers and others
• Apply communication skills that demonstrate
consideration and respect for self, family, friends
and others
• Demonstrate strategies for communicating needs,
wants and emotions in healthy ways
Communication
• Critical in building and maintaining
healthy relationships
• When done effectively, you send
clear messages to others
• Also refers to correctly interpreting
messages received, and responding
appropriately
Communication Styles
•
Passive
•
Aggressive
•
Assertive
– Inability or unwillingness to express thoughts and feelings
– These communicators do not stand up for themselves
– “push-over”
– Try to get their way through bullying and intimidation
– These communicators do not consider the rights of others
– These people often attack the person, not the problem
– Involves expressing thoughts and feelings clearly and directly, but
without hurting others
– These communicators defend their attitudes and beliefs, but also
respect the rights of others
– These people attack the problem, not the person
3 Basic Skills of
Communication
• Speaking
• Listening
• Body language
Speaking Skills
• Do not assume that others can read your mind
• Make your thoughts and feelings known
• Changes in tone, pitch or loudness affect
communications
• Considerations:
– When speaking about strong emotions consider using “I”
messages to communicate your feelings without placing
blame on another person
– Remember, often times it’s not what you say, its how you
say it
Listening Skills
• Active listening: paying close attention to what
someone is saying and communicating
• Techniques for active listening:
– Reflective listening: summarize what the other person
said
– Clarifying: ask the speaker what he or she thinks about
the situation being discussed, ask questions to make sure
you understand what is being said
– Encouraging: signal that you are interested by nodding or
commenting on what is being said
– Empathizing: show that you understand what someone
else is going through
Non-Verbal Communication
• Body language: non-verbal communication
through gestures, facial expressions,
behaviors and posture
• Eye contact or lack of eye contact
• You want to make sure that your nonverbal communication and your words do
not contradict each other so you do not
send mixed signals
Eliminating
Communication Barriers
•
•
•
•
•
Image/Identify Issues: teens who are searching for their identity
(a sense of who they are) the communication process could be
complicated
Unrealistic Expectations: avoid posing unrealistic expectations on
your listener as this could lead to frustration on your part and
their part
Lack of Trust: foundation of good communication; without trust
good communication will be difficult
Prejudice: unfair opinion or judgment of a particular group of
people.
– This prevents a person from having an open mind
– Demonstrating tolerance (accepting others’ differences and allowing
them to be who they are without showing disapproval) will help you to
understand and recognize the value of diversity
Gender Stereotyping: type of prejudice that involves having an
exaggerated or oversimplified belief about a certain gender
Constructive Feedback
• Constructive criticism: non-hostile
comments that point out problems
and encourage improvement
• Intended to bring about positive
changes
• Delivered in a calm way