Interpersonal Skills

Definitions Wolfelt: “all interpersonal relationships are either helpful, neutral, or harmful” Johnson: “interpersonal skills are the sum total of your ability to interact effectively with other people”

Agree or Disagree? Wolfelt: “unless families receive consistently outstanding service right now, funeral service as we know it will not exist in thirty years”

Interpersonal Skills Within Funeral Service Wolfelt: “the public’s perception of anyone who is connected with the funeral home will be the very perception of the funeral home as a whole” Agree or disagree?

Wolfelt’s Characteristics of the Helping Funeral Director “Empathy” (Cust. Service A-Z) 1) empathy 2) respect 3) warmth and caring 4) genuineness

Helping Skills Canine page 260 Attending/Listening: “giving undivided attention by means of verbal and non-verbal behavior Barriers to listening skills: Canine page 257 – 259 Winning Ways: page 126

Helping Skills (cont’d) Paraphrasing: “expressing a thought or idea in an alternate and sometimes a shortened form” Paraphrasing Exercise

Helping Skills (cont’d) Clarifying: “the process of bring vague content in the interaction into clearer focus or understanding” (Wolfelt) Perception Checking: “asking the person for verification of your understanding…..asking for feedback about the accuracy of your listening” (Wolfelt)

Helping Skills (cont’d) Leading: “anticipating where the person is going and responding with an appropriately encouraging remark” (Wolfelt) 2 types of leading: indirect and direct

Helping Skills (cont’d) Canine page 261 Questioning: “a method of gaining information and increasing understanding” (Canine) 2 purposes: 1) to obtain specific information 2) to direct the person’s interaction with you into more helpful areas

Open-ended Questions allow the person to tell more about what he/she might be thinking or feeling help the person better understand focus on the feelings of the person Open-ended questions are preferable in most situations.

Helping Skills (cont’d) Reflecting Feelings: “expressing in fresh words the essential feelings stated or strongly implied of the person” How is this helpful to the funeral director?

Helping Skills (cont’d) Informing: “sharing of facts possessed by the funeral director” (Wolfelt) providing information that will allow the person to make an informed decision information must be usable to the person receiving it

“Informing” Exercise Break into groups of 2. 1 person will assume the role of FD 2nd person will be the client *Each person will have a turn at both roles. FD must address the following questions: Why do I have to buy a vault? Does my mother have to be embalmed?

Helping Skills (cont’d) Summarizing: “a method of tying together several ideas and feelings at the end of a period of discussion or the arrangement conference” (Wolfelt) How can this be helpful to the FD?