Are You a Good Communicator

811 Words4 Pages
Are you A Good Communicator? Interpersonal communication must be clear, thorough and comprehensive. The health care industry survives on collaborative communication efforts between doctors, nurses, specialists, insurance companies and many other individuals. Interpersonal communication is the glue that holds the industry together. It provides a safeguard of customer satisfaction and can prevent a medical mistake with huge repercussions. Each individual involved in the health care industry is an agent of communication. Whether the communication is verbal or nonverbal, millions of messages are being communicated on a daily basis in the industry. Effective communication requires the ability to understand and to be understood. A large aspect of communication is listening and responding to the needs or desires of the person communicating. A health care professional's performance is directly related to his or her ability to effectively communicate. Assertive communication is the ability to express positive and negative ideas and feelings in an open, honest and direct way. It recognizes our rights whilst still respecting the rights of others. It allows us to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions without judging or blaming other people. And it allows us to constructively confront and find a mutually satisfying solution where conflict exists. So why use assertive communication? All of us use assertive behavior at times... quite often when we feel vulnerable or unsure of ourselves we may resort to submissive, manipulative or aggressive behavior. Yet being trained in assertive communication actually increases the appropriate use of this sort of behavior. It enables us to swap old behavior patterns for a more positive approach to life. I've found that changing my response to others (be they work colleagues, clients or even my own family) can be exciting and
Open Document