1. Communication Skills COMM 101 Lecture#2
L. Areej Jouhar Suliman

2. Course Contents Nonverbal Communication. Orientation And Introduction.
The Communication process.
Nonverbal Communication.
Verbal Communication.
Interpersonal Skills Of Healthcare Professional.
Therapeutic Communication.
Roadblocks To Therapeutic Communications
Communicating With Your Supervisor.
Cultural Sensitivity
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3. Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication
Textbook: Communication Skills for Healthcare Professional. First Edition. By Laurie Kelly McCorry and Jeff Mason
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4. Chapter Objectives After Completing this Chapter we should be able to:
Describe why the understanding of nonverbal communication is important in health care.
Explain how each of the following may convey nonverbal messages to the observer: gestures, facial expressions, gaze patterns, personal space, position, posture and touch.
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5. Chapter Objectives After Completing this Chapter we should be able to:
Explain why verbal message and nonverbal messages must be congruent.
Describe the methods by which the healthcare professional can confirm their interpretation of a patient’s nonverbal behavior.
List the proper nonverbal communication skills for the healthcare professional.
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6. Nonverbal Communication, What Does It Means?
Definition:
Intentional and unintentional body language that convey information that words alone often don’t. They provide clue to people’s inner thoughts and feelings.
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7. Nonverbal Communication, What Does It Means?
Communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their patients begins well before they actually say anything to each other.
It occurs when the HCP observes the body language of the patient and even when the patients observes the body language of the HCP.
Nonverbal communication, may be unintentional which includes body movements, gestures and facial expressions.
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8. Why Are They Important?
Nonverbal behaviors convey information that words alone often do not.
The possibility for misunderstanding is much greater than when you are speaking with someone face-to-face.
For Example: The nonverbal behaviors displayed by a seriously ill patient may convey a buildup of feelings, especially fear, anxiety, confusion or anger.
The most effective HCPs are those whose nonverbal messages are matching with their verbal messages.
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9. Why Are They Important?
They are the form of communication that start before talking.
Allow HCP to begin formulating opinions about patients motional state and respond accordingly.
They give further meaning to the spoken message.
They are the main mode of communications.
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10. Types Of Nonverbal Communication
Kinesics: involving body movement in communication.
gestures
facial expressions
gaze patterns
Proxemics: Involving the physical distance between people when they communicate.
personal space
position
posture
Touch
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11. Kinesics: 1. Gestures
Body movements that replace or are used in combination with words.
The most common forms of nonverbal communication.
Gestures may be used when speech is ineffective (e.g., Language barrier) or insufficient (complex content in the message)
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12. Kinesics: 1. Gestures For Example:
A hand extended outward may signify: STOP or WAIT.
a finger across the lips may signify: QUIET.
A head node may signify: GO AHEAD or CONTINUE.
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13. Example Uses Of Gestures
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14. Importance Of Gestures
Are used when there are communication barriers.
Emphasize, clarify and/or add to the verbal content of a message.
Hold the attention of the listener.
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15. Leakage Leakage: when gestures come involuntary or subconscious.
Also the true feelings or attitudes are revealed by an individual.
For Example:
an 18-year-old football player may say that he is not afraid of injection or the clinical procedure, but he wrings his hands or shakes his leg.
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16. Kinesics: 2. Facial Expressions
Facial Expressions provide a rich source of information regarding emotions.
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17. Kinesics: 2. Facial Expressions
Many facial expressions are biologically determined, universal, and learned similarly across cultures
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18. Kinesics: 2. Facial Expressions
The eyes may reflect feelings of joy and happiness or sadness and pain.
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19. Kinesics: 2. Facial Expressions
A smile conveys a positive attitude and positive feelings but a false smiles do not involve the cheeks or the eyes.
Various movements of the cheeks, mouth, nose and brow may express happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, disgust or sadness.
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20. Facial expressions include they eyes, the cheeks, the mouth, the nose and the brows. Can you tell which smile is fake? Why?

21. Listeners facial expressions give feedback to the speaker.

22. Important Points For HCP
Control your facial expressions especially when having negative feelings such as anger, disgust and shock.
When talking with patients smile to encourage and reinforce.
Pay extra attention to signs of pain.

23. Kinesics: 3. Gaze Patterns
Gaze is a form of communication as well as method for collecting information.
It serves three primary functions:
Monitoring
Regulating
Expressing
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24. Monitoring Assessing how others appear.
Example: nurse gazing at a very sick patient for clues about their condition.
How listener is responding to the speaker
Example: interest. Understanding, boredom or confusion
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25. Regulating
using gaze to regulate the conversation such as indicating when it is the other person’s turn to speak. Example: When person finishes speaking, they tend to look at the listener and the listener perceives this as a cue that it is their turn to speak.
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26. Expressing
Feelings and emotion
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27. General rules related to Gaze Patterns
Eye contact is encouraged for HCP as it shows interest and makes the patient feel valuable.
Lack of eye contact may be interpreted as disinterest or avoidance.
Long eye contact can be dehumanizing and may be interpreted as invasion of privacy.
It is culturally sensitive (Consider the male-female issue in the Saudi culture)

28. Important points for HCP
Direct eye contact 50%-60 % during a conversation.
Average length 2-3 seconds.
Consider the gender and the cultural norm of your patient.
Normal assessment gazing that doesn’t make a patient feel uncomfortable is a sign of professionalism.

29. Project (Group #1) Page 21
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30. Summary Kinesics. Gestures Facial Expressions Gaze Patterns
What non-verbal communication means?
Why they are important?
Types of non-verbal communication:
Kinesics.
Gestures
Facial Expressions
Gaze Patterns
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31. COMM Lecture 2