People communicate for a number of different reasons such as to express their needs and wants, to express their feelings, to give and receive information, to learn, share ideas, and also for social pleasure.
Give some examples of methods of communication? Methods people use to communicate are: Speech, tone, hand gestures, body language, touch, expressions and mannerisms. They may also use sign language, objects, pen and paper, photos, symbols, communication passports, assisted technology. People also communicate via electronic devices such as email, phone, text, television, radio and social networking sites.
Explain how effective communication affects relationships in the work setting. Give examples of how you develop relationships, noting the differences and any similarities between a relationship you will have with a client to the relationship with colleagues and other care professionals.
When developing a relationship with a client, it is important to first establish the best way to communicate with them, you can do this by talking to their family/carers and by meeting the client and talking to them. It may be appropriate to adapt the way you communicate to suit them especially if they use communication tools.
When you have found a good method of communicating you can then learn from them what their needs and wants are and how best to support them. It is important to actively listen to the client so that they can build up a trusting relationship with you. You will then need to share what you learn with colleagues and managers, this should be done professionally and written down in an understandable way using their support plan or emails in order to ensure the team all know the best way to support the individual in a way which is specific to their needs.
Relationships between colleagues should be friendly and supportive towards each other, effective communication can help this so that they have time to plan ahead and this will save them getting frustrated or confused which could cause a rift in the team. A relationship between a support worker and a client should also be friendly and supportive from the worker but on the clients terms as we are there to support them.
