Communication and Body Language
“ Communication and interpersonal skills are essential components in delivering good quality nursing care.” With reference to academic literature, you are required to discuss the elements and importance of effective communication in the context of nursing.
Communication is the way in which people can exchange information. Information can be given either verbally (use of words) or non-verbally (body language or behaviours). (DeVito (2004) as cited by Videbeck (2009). Interpersonal skills are a core nursing skill. Nurses interact with people of different cultures and walks of life on a day-to-day basis so they must be able to communicate effectively and easily to provide the highest quality of care to each patient. There are eight core elements that make up the communication process: sender (person initiating the communication process) , message (idea being communicated), channel (way in which message is communicated), receiver (person receiving message ), feedback (indication as to whether message has been received and interpreted correctly), validation (confirmation that message has been received and interpreted correctly), context (place in which communication takes place) and noise (any sound that could interrupt message being sent clearly). For the purpose of this essay the elements ‘message’ and ‘channel’ and ’feedback’ will be looked at in more detail. ‘Message’ is the verbal or non-verbal information that must be encoded (simplified) by the sender and decoded (interpreted) by the receiver. ‘Message’ is the most important part of the communication process as it includes not only the verbal but also the non-verbal. According to Argyle (1998), as cited by Guerrero, L.K (1999) , communication is five times more effective through non-verbal skills rather than verbal, in fact only 7% is verbal, 38% is to do with vocal skills (tone, speed, pitch) and 55% is visual (eye contact, body language, hand signals, posture). The person exchanging information
Communication is the way in which people can exchange information. Information can be given either verbally (use of words) or non-verbally (body language or behaviours). (DeVito (2004) as cited by Videbeck (2009). Interpersonal skills are a core nursing skill. Nurses interact with people of different cultures and walks of life on a day-to-day basis so they must be able to communicate effectively and easily to provide the highest quality of care to each patient. There are eight core elements that make up the communication process: sender (person initiating the communication process) , message (idea being communicated), channel (way in which message is communicated), receiver (person receiving message ), feedback (indication as to whether message has been received and interpreted correctly), validation (confirmation that message has been received and interpreted correctly), context (place in which communication takes place) and noise (any sound that could interrupt message being sent clearly). For the purpose of this essay the elements ‘message’ and ‘channel’ and ’feedback’ will be looked at in more detail. ‘Message’ is the verbal or non-verbal information that must be encoded (simplified) by the sender and decoded (interpreted) by the receiver. ‘Message’ is the most important part of the communication process as it includes not only the verbal but also the non-verbal. According to Argyle (1998), as cited by Guerrero, L.K (1999) , communication is five times more effective through non-verbal skills rather than verbal, in fact only 7% is verbal, 38% is to do with vocal skills (tone, speed, pitch) and 55% is visual (eye contact, body language, hand signals, posture). The person exchanging information