Try: One of the most important caregiver skills is effective communication you need good two-way communication to determine the care recipient recipient’s crs needs care plans problems and interventions you also need effective communication with family members other caregivers and health care professionals here are some of the keys to effective communication know the person try to get to know the other person as an individual and build a relationship the more you know the other person the easier it is to work together and care for each other embrace each person person’s individuality and cultural diversity every person different acknowledge that every person has unique strengths weaknesses gifts passions and cultral heritage this is a part of the web of your community and life celebrate diversity rather than insisting that everyone must be the same accept that you will not always agree on everything it is ok to agree to disagree just make sure that you communicate effectively in the process of disagreeing it is important to know where the other person is coming from even when there are differences do not insist that it is your way or the highway be willing to compromise focus on what unites you with others rather than what divides you take a walk in the other person person’s shoes you may never truly know how the other person is feeling however if you put yourself in the other person person’s shoes you may understand better and communicate more effectively listen to the other person person’s life story everyone has a story to tell that provides perspective on his or her past present and future one of the blessings of working with an elderly cr is listening the the interesting stories that he or she can tell there is much wisedom to be learned from actual life experiences talking to an older cr can provide a unique perspective on historical events the way things used to be and the way they are now words can make a difference words are powerful the way you say things of often has more impact than what you have to say it is important to acknowledge and respect the other person as an individual for example in reference to a cr with incontinence the word adult disposable underwear has a more positive connotation than the word diapers try using person-centered language by reversing common phrases to put the person first and the characteristic second for example "a wheelchair bound resident" for instance becomes " a person who uses a wheelchair for mobility " say yes find ways to rearrange your words in a positive manner for example instead of saying "don’t go that way" you could say "come this way with me " no one likes to hear the word no learn how to say yes be aware of your non-verbal communication a significant portion of total communication comes from non-verbal expressions such as the tone and volume of voice posture facial expressions and hand gestures be aware of body language and the messages that you may be sending on the other hand watch the crs body language especially if verbal communication is impaired slow down you may be very busy and have too much to do in a short amout of time being in a hurry may send a message to the other person that he or she is not important try to take a deep breath and slow down a liitle bit be present an elderly cr especially one with dementia may be living from moment to moment try to be spontaneous flexible interested and enthusiastic to be present with the cr in those moments respect and empower when the other persons mental and physical capabilities are declining let that person do what he or she can do as long as possible be a source of encouragement rather than criticism for example an elderly cr may have trouble making coffee in the morning and it may take an very long time even though you could do it easily in a much shorter period of time let the cr do it it helps maintain independence and self-esteem make sure you thank to cr for making the coffee laugh find the joy and use humor laughter is the universal language and everyone understands it laughter can lighten your load make things fun defuse a stressful situation and help build relationships it costs nothing brings a little joy into the world and makes everyone feel good references adapted from a presentation by karen stobbe for culture change network of georgia and articles by karen schoeneman on the website www pioneernetwork net
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Categories: Communication, Emotional Psychological, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware
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Keywords: Interpersonal skills interpersonal rapport talking visiting
*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed