1. Improving Communication & Participant Complaint Resolution For Connections To Independence

2. Communication  Communication skills are some of the most important skills that you need to succeed in the workplace.  Involves a sender and a receiver  To be successful receiver must understand the message in the way the sender intended  To be an expert communicator you must be effective at all points in the communication process and be comfortable with the different channels of communication.

3. Let’s take the….. COMMUNICATION QUIZ Are you communicating effectively?

4. The Communications Process Source Encoding ChannelDecoding Receiver Feedback Context MSG

5. The Source – Planning Your Message  To plan your communication:  Understand your objective. Why are your communicating?  Understand your audience. With whom are you communicating? What do they need to know?  Plan what you want to say and how you’ll send the message.  Seek feedback on how well your message was received.  Good communicators use KISS.  Keep It Simple and Straightforward

6. Encoding – Creating a Clear, Well Crafted Message - Verbal  You need to consider not only what you say, but also how you think the recipient will perceive it.  Understand what you truly need and want to say  Anticipate the other person’s reaction  Choose words and body language that allow the other person to really hear what you’re saying

7. Encoding – Creating a Clear, Well Crafted Message - Written  Words on a page generally have no emotion.  When writing take time to do the following:  Review your style  Avoid jargon or slang  Check grammar and punctuation  Check for tone, attitude, nuance and other subtleties  Familiarize yourself with your company’s writing policies  Use pictures, charts and diagrams  Consider the cultural context

8. Choosing the Right Channel  Along with encoding the message you need to choose the best communication channel to send it.  Email: for simple directions is practical.  If message is complex or has any negative emotional content, communication Face to Face or by Phone.  To determine the best way to send a message consider:  Sensitivity and emotional content  How easy it is to communicate detail  The receiver’s preferences  Time constraints  The need to ask and answer questions

9. Decoding – Receiving and Interpreting a Message  To be a great communicator you need to listen.  Active listening = effective listening  Look at the person  Pay attention to body language  Avoid distractions  Nod and smile  Think back about what the person has said  Allow the person to speak  Don’t interrupt  Empathic listening allows you to understand the underlying feelings the speaker is expressing

10. Receiver  Must keep in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience.  Each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will influence their understanding and their response.  To be a successful communicator you should consider this before delivering your message

11. Feedback  Feedback can be verbal or non-verbal.  Feedback through body language is the most important source of clues to the effectiveness of your communication.  You can learn what the other person is saying  Ask questions to ensure that you have understood each other

12. Context  The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include:  The surrounding environment  Broader culture  Corporate culture  International culture  Etc.

13. Communication Summary  The Source – Planning Your Message  Encoding – Creating a Clear, Well Crafted Message Verbally or in writing  Choose the right channel: email, phone or face-to- face  Decoding – Receiving and Interpreting a Message  Receiver - Must keep in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience.  Feedback – can be verbal or non-verbal  Context – the situation your message is delivered

14. Utilizing Communication  So how can we utilize communication to help deal with difficult behavior?  First, let’s take a look at difficult behavior and it’s causes.

15. Difficult Behavior You can’t control the behavior but you can control your response to it.

16. Causes  Illness  Disability  Possibility of death  Emotional change  Physical changes  Pain All race through their minds

17. Why?  Fear of loss of control is a huge problem for many people and is often the root of behavior problems  They will grasp at anything to try to control the situation  Family members will go through these same emotions due to the causal factors.

18. 5 R’s  Remain calm  Respond to person’s feelings  Reassure the person  Remove yourself  Return when you are calm

19. Communication for When a Person Refuses Help  Involve them as much as possible  Assure them they have the final say  Reinforce that your aim is to work with them to keep them at home  Watch for body language clues for feedback  If at first you don’t succeed wait 15 minutes and try again  Be patient

20. Excessive Complaints and Angry Behavior  Don’t downplay feelings  Don’t take personally  Say “You seem really frustrated, what can we do to make it better next time?”  Let them talk about their anger  LISTEN! (empathic and active)  Make an effort to respect demands that may seem petty to you, but are important to them  Learn triggers and avoid them

21. Anxious Behavior  Chronic disability may make the person more anxious than normal.  Anxiety may make the person feel:  Restless  Dizzy  Hot or chilled  Heart pounding  Not enough air  Insomnia  Identify and decrease things that may be causing anxiety  Look for feelings behind demands  Reassure things are under control  Encourage deep breathing  Encourage hydration

22. Disrespectful Behavior  Calm yourself  Use I statements such as: “When you use that tone of voice I feel unappreciated.”  Communicate politely how you’d like to be treated. Remember to consider the channel: (is this phone or face-to-face)  Utilize empathic and active listening to understand what the person is actually saying behind the disrespectful words  Ask if you did something to offend them and if you did apologize

23. Communication and Difficult Behavior  In most cases of difficult behavior utilizing communication skills will aid you in diffusing the situation.  Consider the context in which you are delivering your message and what you are trying to convey.  Keep in mind the actions or reactions you may receive from your audience.

24. To Review: A Scenario  In groups of three or four, read through your scenario.  Using the 5 R’s and other tips you’ve learned, how would you respond to your scenario. Include the steps in the communication process learned during this training.  Present to the rest of the group