Interpersonal Communication

Skills
Samir Muhazzab Amin
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
SKILLS OF PRACTICE
COMMUNICATION COUNSELLING
QUESTIONS
1. What is communication?
2. What are the basic inter
personal communication
skills?
3. What are common inter
personal communication
mistakes in working with
children and families?
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2. WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
a. Communication is the process people engage in
which enables the transmission of:
i. information
ii. thoughts,
iii. feelings between people.
b. Communication enables people to transmit to
others the meaning they give to the world they
experience and to the relationships they have.
c. People need to communicate with other people
to have their major physical, social,
psychological and emotional needs met.
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i. Information what they know about
themselves and the world they are living
in- today my friends mother is sick.
ii. Thoughts what they are thinking about
I wish I could have a new soccer ball.
iii. Feelings what emotions they have
about events in their lives I am sad
you are unhappy with me.
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WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION?
Professional communication has four characteristics:
1.Is a conscious process the worker is always aware
of what they are communicating to the other person(s)
2.Is a planned process the communication undertaken
by the worker is always planned out before it is
commenced
3.Is a purposeful process the communication always
sets out to achieve a specific practice objective(s)
4.Is a directed process each communication is linked to
previous communication undertaken.
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TYPES OF COMMUNICATION.
Two types of communication

1. Verbal communication is the use of
language to convey meaning e.g. I am
very worried about my husband. Each
word has a meaning within a language,
which when grouped together with other
words into a sentence is able to convey
how someone feels.
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Non verbal communication the
use of the body and its surrounding
environment to convey meaning.
People use their facial expressions,
their body position, their hands and the
movement of their head to
communicate.

Verbal Example Non verbal Example
Words used
use simple words
with clear
meanings
Use - Sad, angry,
confused
Do not use
ambivalent, multi-
faceted words e.g.
depressed
Facial
expression
Use facial expression
which shows interest and
concern.
Do not let the face show
disinterest or boredom
Words which are
joined together
let one word
carry the
meaning, do not
link several
strong words
together
Use Are you
worried?
Do not use Are
you worried, angry,
depressed,
confused
Body and
facial
expressions
and
movement
Use body is focused on
what the person is
saying, not agitated and
moving around
Do not use constant
physical movements.
Body and face
inconsistent with
language use.
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AWARENESS OF VERBAL AND NON
VERBAL COMMUNICATION.
Verbal Example Non verbal Example
Sentence order
the key idea
of the sentence
should be
presented early
in the sentence

Use It seems you are worried about
leaving the children with your husband
when you go to work.
Do not use When you go to work and
leave the children with your husband you
are worried.
Eye contact Use maintain
culturally appropriate
eye contact
Do not use
constant turning
away from the
person as they are
speaking.
Few sentences
several
sentences
presented
together
without
stopping lead
the person to
become
confused as to
what the
central ideas of
the
communication
are.
Use Can you tell me when you noticed
your husbands behaviour becoming of
more concern to you?
Do not use - Can you tell me about when
you noticed your husbands behaviour
becoming of more concern to you?
Do not use - Can you tell me when you
noticed your husbands behaviour
becoming of more concern to you? You
also have said the children are frightened
of their father, this sounds like it is
worrying you greatly. It is good to hear
that your neighbours have been helping
you
Voice tone Use voice tone to
appropriately match
what the person is
saying/conveying
lowering of the voice
when a sensitive
issue is being
discussed, higher
voice tone when
worker needs to
make a point clear.
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FACTORS WHICH SHAPE HOW
COMMUNICATION OCCURS
Communication
Gender
Culture
Age
Location
Education
Social
location/
status
TOOLS OF COMMUNICATION
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Listening Reflecting Summarizing
Empathizing Questioning Confronting