Learning Guide Interacting with people 28518 Interact with people to provide support in a health or wellbeing setting Level 2 5 credits Name: Workplace: Issue 1.0
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Contents Introduction... 1 Communication... 2 What is communication?... 2 Two-way communication... 2 Communication at your workplace... 3 Types of communication... 4 Verbal communication... 4 Body language... 4 Written communication... 8 Which type of communication should you use?... 8 Importance of listening... 9 Show that you re interested... 9 Ask questions... 9 Check your understanding... 9 Language... 11 Terminology... 12 Accents... 12 Disabilities... 12 Reporting... 13 You have finished!... 14 Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015
Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015
Introduction As a support worker, your job involves talking and working with people. This is called interacting with people. How to use your learning guide This learning guide supports your learning and prepares you for the unit standard assessment. This learning guide relates to the following unit standard: 28518 Interact with people to provide support in a health or wellbeing setting (level 2, 5 credits). This learning guide is yours to keep. Make it your own by writing notes that help you remember things, or where you need to find more information. Follow the tips in the notes column. You may use highlighter pens to show important information and ideas, and think about how this information applies to your work. You might find it helpful to talk to your colleagues or supervisor. Complete this learning guide before you start the assessment. What you will learn This learning guide will help you to communicate more effectively with: your colleagues. the people you support. the family and whānau of the people you support. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 1
Communication An important part of working with people is communicating with them. What is communication? Communication is about one person saying something and a second person listening to what the first person is saying. There are two necessary parts to communication: 1 You tell a person something. 2 The other person understands what you are saying. Two-way communication Communication is often a two-way process. When you are telling a person something, they may be telling you something at the same time, even if you are the only one talking. Example: You re working with Maraea. You re telling her that you are going to make her favourite meal for lunch. As you speak, Maraea nods and smiles. She is telling you that she understands what you are saying and that she is happy about it. Think about If you tell a person something but they don t understand, are you really communicating with them? Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 2
Communication at your workplace Communication is about more than speaking and listening. In your workplace, you may need to communicate in different ways, including: telephone. text message (or SMS). email. Your workplace will have policies and procedures about how you communicate at work and with the people you support. These rules are there to keep everybody safe and make sure everyone understands each other. Talk Talk to your supervisor about policies for workplace communication. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 3
Types of communication When we talk about telling a person something, we don't just mean talking. There are many different ways to communicate. Verbal communication Verbal communication is speaking. Whenever you talk to someone using your voice, you are using verbal communication. Verbal communication can be in person, on the phone or over the computer using programmes like Skype. Sounds that aren t words Verbal communication doesn t have to be actual words. Some examples are: When someone else is speaking, you might say uh-huh or mmmm to show you are listening. You might laugh or make a sad noise to show you understand the emotion of the story. The way we speak The way you say something can change the meaning. Some examples are: If you speak clearly, it s more likely the person will understand you, and it lets the person know that you care that they understand. Tone is the emotion or feeling in your voice. If you say nice things in an angry voice, they will not sound nice to the person you are speaking to. Body language You use your whole body when you communicate, not just your voice. You may even communicate without meaning to. Facial expressions Your face can say a lot, even before you open your mouth! If you are constantly frowning, a person near you may feel you don t like them and don t want to be there. Think about Think about all the ways you can say no kidding. You can change your tone to show you are surprised or disappointed or to show that what the person said is obvious. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 4
You don't have to smile all the time just keep in mind what your face is saying! Gestures Gestures are movements you make with your body to tell someone something. Some examples of gestures are: waving goodbye to a person. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 5
pointing to show a person where something is. Always point with your whole hand rather than just one finger. Pointing with one finger can be offensive in some cultures. Body position How you position your body when you talk to a person can affect how well you communicate with them. For example, people tend to sit closer to someone they like and lean towards the person. This creates a feeling of warmth and interest in the person. Ideally you should be on the same level as the person you are communicating with. Making yourself physically lower than someone shows you respect their mana. Standing over them can put you in a position of power. Being at the same level makes you equal partners. Squat or sit down by a person who is sitting in a chair or wheelchair, or lying on a bed. Sign languages Some people communicate with sign language, using their hands and gestures to represent words, letters and ideas. They use it to communicate with others who know the same sign language. Some of the people you support may have their own sign language. You can use this language to communicate with them. New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is one of three official languages of New Zealand, along with English and Te Reo Māori. It is the natural language of the Deaf community. NZSL conveys ideas by using signs, facial expressions, body language and lip movements. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 6
Tactile signing Deaf-blind is a dual sensory loss or significant impairment of both hearing and sight. For people who are deaf-blind, ways of communicating and the aids and devices used will depend on the person s needs. The person may communicate use tactile signing, such as tactile finger spelling, hand-over-hand signing or on-body signing. The person may also use printed or written signs that have been visually adapted, such as using larger text, and/or with contrasting words and backgrounds. More info Tactile relates to actions that involve touch. Laura uses tactile signing to communicate with Joseph. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 7
Written communication Written communication is anything you write down or type for someone else to read. Electronic communication A lot of written communication is electronic. Some examples are: typed reports. emails. text messages. Which type of communication should you use? For each person you support, you need to use the type of communication that works best for them. Your workplace will have policies and training on using different types of communication. Talk Talk to your supervisor about policies and how to get training in using different types of communication. Find out how the people you support prefer to communicate. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 8
Importance of listening Listening is an essential part of communication. How you listen affects how well you communicate. Listening well is also called active listening. Show that you re interested It s important to show the person communicating with you that you re interested in what they are saying. This tells them you care about communicating with them. Some ways to show that you re interested when a person is communicating with you are: making good eye contact by not looking at something else but also not staring at the person or looking directly into their eyes. nodding or agreeing as they make a point. waiting for the person to finish and not interrupting them, especially if they have difficulty talking or communicating. Ask questions Responding to the person and asking questions is a good way to continue the communication. Some types of questions you might ask are: questions to check anything you don t understand. If you don t understand, then communication is not happening. follow-up questions to show you re interested in what the person is talking about. For example, you are working with Joan who is talking about her grandchildren. You might ask, How old are they now? Check your understanding Checking your understanding makes sure you and the person know what has been communicated. It means saying what you think the person is telling you. Sometimes this means repeating what they have told you. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 9
Example: You are working in a residential service and your supervisor, Ana, is giving you instructions for the day. Ana says, You need to help Mrs Berry, Mr Kyle and Mrs Brady get up. Start with Mrs Brady first because she likes to wake up early. To check your understanding, you say, Ok, I'll get Mrs Brady up first, then Mrs Berry because she s right next door, and then Mr Kyle." Ana says, Great! Thanks. Sometimes people won t say exactly what they mean, but they may still be trying to tell you something. Example: Every day, your colleague, Solomon, tells you all the details of how Mrs Thompson is doing, even though you don t work with her. He often sounds worried when he talks about her. To check your understanding, you say, Are you worried about Mrs Thompson? Do you need to talk to your supervisor about her? Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 10
Language We all change the way we speak depending on who we re talking to. If you understand more than one language, this might mean speaking a different language, or it might mean just changing the words you use. Even if you speak English at home and at work, you d speak differently to your supervisor than you would if you were speaking to your child. Think about Imagine you are sitting next to a person and you would like them to pass you something. How would you ask them if the person was: Think about It s important to use the right language when you talk to the people you work with. Then they will understand and respect you. your supervisor? the person you support? a family or whanau member? Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 11
Terminology As a support worker, you work in a health, disability or social services sector. Your sector will have its own terminology. This means it will have technical terms for things that you use or do in your workplace. For example, PPE is a technical term that stands for Personal Protective Equipment. This means the things you use at work to protect yourself, like gloves if you are dealing with blood. You need to: understand terminology used in your workplace. use it in your workplace with your colleagues. be able to explain it to the people you support so they know what s happening. Accents If you or the person you support has an accent when speaking English, communication may be more difficult. To help with this, speak slowly and clearly if you or the person you support has an accent. Disabilities Some people you work with may have communication difficulties. You may have to change how you speak to get your message across. For example, you are working with Jesse, who has had a brain injury. To communicate with Jesse, you may need to: be patient. use simpler words and sentences. speak more slowly. wait longer for Jesse to respond. Your workplace will have guidelines for words and language that you should use. Talk Talk to your supervisor about guidelines for language. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 12
Reporting Reporting is one of the main ways that you will communicate in your workplace. To report, you might use a: verbal report This means talking to someone in person or on the phone. Talk written report This means writing something down. It might be a note or filling out a particular form. Talk to your supervisor about policies for reporting. How you do this will depend on your workplace. Your workplace will have policies on how you need to report in your role. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 13
You have finished! Great work you ve finished this learning guide. Now you can communicate more effectively with: your colleagues. the people you support. the family and whānau of the people you support. Interacting with people (US 28518) Learning Guide Careerforce Issue 1.0 April 2015 14