Verbal and nonverbal communications are probably the most interesting means of human expression. Both have been examined thoroughly and the contemporary scholar society knows several categories that comprise deliberate features of verbal and nonverbal communication. This research paper will elaborate on verbal and nonverbal communication, their functions, principles, and implementation in a health care environment.
People talk every day and do not care for the principles of verbal and nonverbal communication which is understandable. However, the principles are essential for further deriving effective communication within certain working environments. (Cheesebro, 2010). As such, the principles of verbal communication are: a reflection of culture through the language, the meaning expressed may be subjectively perceived so clarity is necessary, language submits to rules of grammar, the punctuation alters meaning. Therefore, to avoid undesirable consequences, nonverbal principles of communication exist, they are: supplement verbal communication, controls interaction, set up relational attitudes, represent cultural significance. These two ways of communication always collaborate and supplement each other to introduce the methods of communication and its goals.
The three principles that are important for effective communication are the clarity of verbal communication, adherence to the grammar rules for the same purpose, and controlling interaction. The three principles will ensure people get the information correctly as the person meant it due to the right grammar flow, gestures and sights, and understanding which role you play in a conversation. The last principle chosen here reflects how people choose different roles during their interactions (power, liking) and overall responsiveness to each other. These attitudes usually form during the first several seconds of the conversation. Therefore, it becomes pretty easy to understand the tone and rhythm chosen by a receiver and a giver in a dialogue. Although it is deemed that people can be equal in communication, anyway there is the one leading and another is a follower. So, the three principles will ensure direct hit of the information whether it is a request, report, or inquiry.
I had a difficult non-verbal communication experience when an interlocutor just would not look up at me during the conversation. It is an eye contact issue that I would strongly recommend taking care of to anyone having such trouble. The person would look up at me for a second and then look up left which is a common behavior when a person tells lies. Another situation when I had hard times with non-verbal communication was when a man stared at me during a short dialogue. The conversation ended up quickly because I could not stand it anymore. It would help if he blinked a little more often, whereas he did not and this put additional tension to the conversation. So, eye contact is a very important means of non-verbal communication. Another thing is the ability to listen to a person. If you are continuously interrupted or not listened to at all, this vanishes the initial goal of why the conversation was started. Therefore, my experience shows that looking at a person rationally and listening attentively is essential for effective communication.
Non-verbal communication helps a lot in a health care workplace especially used by nurses. The nurses are the ones to present health care to the patients. Not only pharmaceutical and medical aspects are important, the psychological one is not less essential. Therefore, listening as a non-verbal skill is crucial to have for nurses. The latter may be working in palliative and end-of-life medical care situations where listening can facilitate communication between families, patients, and medical staff (Metcalf, 1998). Moreover, it is proved that doctors are not able to provide the same high-quality care as nurses can (Dea, 2005). This is caused by nurses’ self-awareness and understanding of patients’ psychological pains. To listen can mean more than to tell a whole bunch of medical terms implying the soon death of a patient. Hence, this comforts the members of the malignancy patient and the patient him/herself.
Modern technologies, the Internet, in particular, influence communication greatly. With the development of the World Wide Web, communication has altered a lot both positively and negatively. People can afford to talk to each other while being in different parts of the planet. This is an evident advantage of the technology inventions. Moreover, couples are frequently created due to Internet dating websites. It has to be mentioned here that in such a case technology is rather a disadvantage because it takes away an opportunity to have emotions of the first verbal communication between the couple, and the non-verbal one, as well. Communicating in the workplace may be seriously hard because of the instant messenger’s usage instead of real-life conversation. This has significantly changed the way people socialize and dragged implications. The co-workers do not catch those non-verbal methods that occur during talking and so they may interpret the message differently – not the way the sender intended it to sound.
Verbal communication is a very important part of our lives to convey information, appeal to people, and simply talk. However, we should not forget about non-verbal communication skills that accompany and make verbal ones more substantial in use.
References
Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., & Francisco, R. (2010). Communicating in the Workplace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dea M., C. (2005). Communication issues and advance care planning. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 21(1), 11-19.
Metcalf, C. (1998). Stoma care: exploring the value of effective listening. British Journal of Nursing 7, (6), 311-315.