Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Erica Pavord was a Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Worcester and now works as a systemic counsellor with families in Monmouthshire. Before becoming a counsellor, she spent fifteen years as a secondary school teacher. She has a special interest in communication methods and teaches a range of therapeutic communication and counselling skills. Her research interests include understanding attachment narratives and narrative enquiry methods. She has co-written and contributed to a number of books on subjects such as communication skills and child and adolescent mental health.Elaine Donnelly was a Senior Lecturer in Health, Social Care and Psychology at the University of Worcester, where she developed and taught modules of study across many courses on offer in the department at the time with a specific focus on mental health, psychology and communication and interpersonal skills. As a teacher she encouraged students to learn from their experiences and incorporated their feedback in teaching and learning activities. Student feedback and course requirements played an equal part in the development of her written texts which have been well received. Now happily retired, Elaine still maintains the belief that at the core of effective care lies good communication and interpersonal skills.

‘A comprehensive text covering many aspects of communication and the effective use of interpersonal skills. Suitable for a wide range of students at both basic and post-basic levels of professional education.’Senior Lecturer, University of Brighton

• Introduction; About the authors1. Introducing key concepts in communication1.1 The importance of good communication1.2 The 6 Cs1.3 Towards a definition of communication1.4 Modes of communication1.5 Choosing your approach when communicating with others1.6 Studying communications theory2. Understanding ourselves and our impact on others2.1 Intrapersonal communication2.2 Developing awareness of how external factors impact on the self2.3 Developing awareness of how internal factors impact on the self2.4 Negative thinking2.5 Positive thinking2.6 Reflection and reflective practice3. Interpersonal communication3.1 Interpersonal skills3.2 Verbal communication3.3 Paralanguage3.4 Non-verbal communication3.5 Environmental communication3.6 Intercultural communication3.7 Communicating with the deaf or people with hearing loss4. Introducing Transactional Analysis4.1 What is Transactional Analysis?4.2 The concept of ego states4.3 Transactions between people4.4 Life scripts5. Listening to people5.1 Communication through listening5.2 The use of empathy5.3 Create an interview plan5.4 Acceptance and non-judgemental warmth5.5 Being genuine5.6 Self-disclosure5.7 Active listening skills5.8 Confidentiality6. Communication and interpersonal skills in practice6.1 Things that are important to people6.2 Understanding ourselves and other people6.3 Blocks and barriers to effective communication6.4 Dealing with difficult people6.5 Working in organisations and communicating with others6.6 Codes of practice6.7 The written word6.8 Telephone6.9 Email and text6.10 Social media7. Case studyIndex