COMMUNICATION SKILLS/

COUNSELING
BY
MARUGA, I. WAIGURU
M.A(UON) 2021
B.A(GRETSA) 2019
DIP(GRETSA) 2016
ACADEMIC HONORS:
BEST RESEARCH PAPER DURING THE 7TH BRI
CONFERENCE COURTSEY OF RMIT
UNIVERSITY (UON, FEBRUARY 2023)
 LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION- is language use or thought internal to the communicator. Intrapersonal

communication is the active internal involvement of the individual in symbolic processing of messages. The individual becomes his
or her own sender and receiver, providing feedback to him or herself in an ongoing internal process. It can be useful to envision
intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback
loop

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION- is defined by

communication scholars in numerous ways, though most definitions
involve participants who are interdependent on one another, have a
shared history. communication channels are the medium chosen to
convey the message from sender to receiver. communication
channels can be categorized into two main categories: direct and
indirect channels of communication.
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• Interpersonal communication encompasses:
Speech communication
Nonverbal communication
Unconscious communication
summarizing
paraphrasing
listening
questioning
Initiating: Declaring one's conversational intent and inviting consent from one's prospective
conversation partner
Turn-taking: Managing the flow of information back and forth between partners in a conversation
by alternating roles of speaker and listener
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Balance of interpersonal communication

The Johari window model focuses on the balance of interpersonal communication .

Known to Unknown to self

self

OPEN BLIND Known to others

HIDDEN UNKNOWN Unknown to others

Cont..

GROUP COMMUNICATION- refers to the nature of communication that occurs in groups that are
between 3 and 12 individuals. Small group communication generally takes place in a context that
mixes interpersonal communication interactions with social clustering.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATION- It's at the heart of our economy, society, and politics. Studios use
it to promote their films. Politicians use it to get elected. Businesses use it to burnish their image.
Advocates use it to promote social causes. It's a field built on ideas and images, persuasion and
information, strategy and tactics. No policy or product can succeed without a smart message targeted
to the right audience in creative and innovative ways
 BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
•Physiological Barriers
Physiological barriers may result from individuals' personal discomfort, caused, for

example, by ill health, poor eye sight, or hearing difficulties.

•Physical Barriers
Physical barriers include: Marked out territories, empires, and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed at the
macro level .
•Cultural Barriers
When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the behavior patterns of the group.
These are the behaviors that the group accepts as signs of belonging.
The group rewards such behavior through acts of recognition, approval, and inclusion. In
groups which are happy to accept you and where you are happy to conform, there is a
mutuality of interests and a high level of win-win contact.
•Language Barriers
Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to
others who are not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words, and jargon. When we couch our
communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others.
•Gender Barriers
There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man and those in a
woman. Global studies suggest that a woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day
whereas a man speaks between 7,000 and 10,000. In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys
and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys.
 Cont..

•Perceptual barriers
The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. In
other words we see world differently. If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate:
something like extrasensory perception would take its place
•Emotional barriers
One of the other chief psychological barriers to open and free communication is the
emotional barrier. It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust, and suspicion.
Techniques of therapeutic Communication
•Reflecting- Patients often ask nurses for advice about what they should do about particular problems or in
specific situations. Nurses can ask patients what they think they should do, which encourages patients to be
accountable for their own actions and helps them come up with solutions themselves.
•Reflecting is the process of paraphrasing and restating both the feelings and words of the speaker. The
purposes of reflecting are:
 To allow the speaker to 'hear' their own thoughts and to focus on what they say and feel.
 To show the speaker that you are trying to perceive the world as they see it and that you are doing your best
to understand their messages.
 To encourage them to continue talking.
•Reflecting does not involve you asking questions, introducing a new topic or leading the conversation in
another direction. Speakers are helped through reflecting as it not only allows them to feel understood, but it
also gives them the opportunity to focus their ideas. This in turn helps them to direct their thoughts and further
encourages them to continue speaking.
 Cont..
•Paraphrasing-Paraphrasing is part of active listening. It involves repeating back to the speaker what
you heard and understood them to say.
•An example of paraphrasing in daily life:
 Think of ordering from your favorite menu.
 You tell the person taking your order what you want item by item.
 He or she repeats it back to you.
 If they misunderstood something you said, you correct the mistake.
 They usually repeat that back to you again, hopefully with the right information.
They may not use the exact words, but attempt to verify that you have been heard correctly and
understood.

•Facial Expressions
•Refers to certain movements or conditions of the facial muscles that facilitate the nonverbal
communication of some thought, emotion, or behavior.
•Facial expression is the main channel we use to decode emotional states or reactions of others to a
message, and they generally mirror the intensity of people’s thoughts and feelings.
•Quite simply, faces talk, and chatter oozes out of their every movement. In fact, it is wise to depend
on facial cues to facilitate person-to-person interaction.
 Cont..
•Gestures
•Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to
approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to spoken words.
•Gestures are overt and observable movements or actions using various parts of the body. They may involve the use
of a single body part like the wagging of a finger or a nod, or multiple body parts at the same time, like
gesticulating with both hands or using the hand and the head together.
•Using Silence
•At times, it’s useful to not speak at all. Deliberate silence can give both nurses and patients an opportunity to think
through and process what comes next in the conversation. It may give patients the time and space they need to
broach a new topic. Nurses should always let patients break the silence.

Customer Relations Attitude

The willingness to help, patience, and a positive attitude are very much important when it comes to customer
service. Thus, implementing a positive attitude toward customer service is a powerful approach to achieving the
goals of a business – Customer retention.
 The importance and Benefit of maintaining a positive customer service attitude

 Improved Customer Response – One of the major benefits of a positive attitude in customer service is
bringing out positivity in the customers. Keeping a positive attitude while interacting with the customers
helps them in responding politely to the agents which makes the ticket resolution process a whole lot easier.
 Co-operative Customer – Positive customer service attitude makes customers feel that their problems are
taken care of and will be resolved soon. They will willingly accept alternative solutions if the query is not
resolved in the meantime.
 Enhanced Customer Retention – If an agent portrays a positive attitude while talking to customers, they
will feel like coming back to the business for repeat business. This will help in increasing their loyalty to the
company, eventually increasing customer retention.
 Maintaining a positive attitude for customer service helps in creating positive vibes in the workplace and
prevents negativity from bringing the whole team down.
 Customer satisfaction is a prior KPI that customer support agents need to be hitting. And a positive attitude
toward customer service will help them in getting the result they are looking for.
 Dealing with customers’ queries with a positive attitude will definitely help customer support agents in
finding common ground with their customers, thereby increasing overall customer satisfaction.
 And in the long run, a positive attitude toward customer service can improve agent well-being and
productivity as well as drive business growth.
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THE END
THANK YOU