EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATION FOR
NURSE LEADERS
Zenaida I. Villaluna, RN,EdD
DMO IV, (Nursing Adviser)
NCHFD, DOH
 OBJECTIVES

1) Recognizing communication problems

and barriers.
2) Implementing techniques to resolve
communication problems and barriers.
3) Demonstrating the basic general rules of
effective communication.
4) Using special techniques in specific
communication situations.
 • As a manager, your
communication skill is critical in
directing the actions of your
employees. This basic
managerial skill course in
communication will enable you
to become a better manager for
yourself, and for your
organization.
 What is Communication?

• Communication is simply the sending of a

message to another person. The person
sending the message first needs to
formulate the message in his head.
• This involves determining the meaning
that the sender intends to convey to the
other person.
There are many components to
communication.
• verbal communication skills,
• listening skills,
• written memorandums/email,
• telephone skills and non-verbal communication.
Also, reflect upon all the people we
communicate to: subordinates, peers,
supervisors, customers, and groups of people.
 In addition, some of the reasons, why
we communicate:
• to get and give information,
• to discipline subordinates,
• to make assignments, and so on.
To formulate the meaning of the
message, the sender usually draws
upon his :
• background attitudes,
• perceptions, emotions,
• opinions, education,
• and experience.
• The message is then sent to the
listener through both verbal talking
and non-verbal gestures.
• The person receiving this message
then interprets its meaning.
Effective communication exists
between two persons when the
person receiving the message
interprets it in the same way as the
sender intended it.
Who is Responsible for Communicating
Effectively?
• Managers share the responsibility in
communicating effectively with the
individual employees themselves.
• The manager is 100% responsible for
communicating effectively with their
employees.
• This includes establishing an open
and trusting climate for
communication,
• as well as demonstrating good
communication techniques to their
employees.
Why Managers Need to be Effective
Communicators?

o Communication is the primary method that

managers use to direct their employee's
behavior.
o Communication is the basis for almost all
other managerial skills. It is involved in
delegating duties to subordinates, motivating
employees, demonstrating leadership abilities,
training new policies and programs, and
counseling performance problems, etc.
Why Managers Need to be Effective
Communicators?
• o Communication is used so frequently
that "we cannot afford to do it poorly".
o Communication has a special power: to
create interest, stimulate action, achieve
agreement, foster enthusiasm.
Barriers to Effective Communication
• o Supervisor inaccessible.
o Supervisor buried in work.
o Supervisor always in a hurry.
o Supervisor maintains a pre-occupied
expression; little eye-contact with employees.
o Supervisor only informal with his peers or
boss (never with subordinates).
o Supervisor tells employees to "write it up"
instead of promoting discussion.
o Supervisor never asks,"How's it Going?".
Where do Difficulties in Communication
Arise?

• The basic source of misunderstanding

between two persons are communication
failures that occur when the receiver
understands the meaning of a message
differently than it was intended. We do not
always communicate what we intend.
• Communication failures arise when there is
a gap between what the sender meant and
what the receiver thought the sender meant.
Communication failure can be caused
by:
o Being so preoccupied that you do not listen
to what other are saying.
o Being so interested in what you have to say
that you listen only to find an opening to work
your way into the conversation.
o Being so sure that you know what the other
person is going to say that you distort what
you hear to match your expectation.
Communication failure can be caused
by:

• o Evaluating and judging the speakers,

which makes the speaker guarded and
defensive.
o Not being able to "see past the words"
and get the emotional message of the
sender.
o Not trusting the speaker and becoming
suspicious of what is being said.
Setting the Stage for Effective
Communication
• Even before the first word is uttered,
various factors are already at work that
can affect the success or failure of our
communications.
Communicator's Appearance

• Before we ever say a word, others have

been receiving messages from us. We
communicate to others just by the way we
dress and groom.
• Many businesses utilize a dress code to
guide people to the appropriate type of
attire. It use to be traditional within the
business world for men to wear a coat and
tie. This conveys to others that we are
professionals.
• Recent changes have occurred in this
area, just always remember that people
do make conclusions about you based on
your appearance.

• Understand the expectation as it relates to

dress code and insure you are in tune with
the company position.
• In addition, conservative colors are
preferred to more outspoken colors. This
communicates seriousness, stability, and
a "down-to-business" attitude.
Communicator's Past Conversations

• Communication experts tell us that the

credibility of the communicator, as
determined by past conversations, is a
critical factor in effective communication.
Credibility refers to the attitude the listener
has toward the truthfulness and
trustworthiness of the sender's statements.
• When a listener views the sender as
dependable, knowledgeable, reliable, warm
and friendly, emphatic, and non-selfish, the
message that is sent will be more likely to
be received. Unless we seem credible to
the receiver.
• Our message will be discounted and we
will not be able to communicate effectively
with him.
Communicator's Personality
• The personality of the communicator plays
a part in both the formulation of the
message and in how the message is
communicated.
• Each individuals beliefs, opinions,
prejudices, feelings, biases, and personal
experiences enter into the development of
a message
• You may know of an instance where two
managers sound completely different in
conveying the same exact message to a listener.

• For example a result oriented manager may talk

in short, concise, action-oriented sentences,
while another manager may end up in a long
discourse including many details and side points.
The Communication Situation
• The situation and circumstances
surrounding our communication plays a
part in determining its success or failure.
Although many types of situations affect
the messages we send, one particular type
that can easily distort our messages is
communication under stress.
• Stress, by its very nature, makes it difficult for
us to "think clearly". In a stress situation,
• the meaning of the message can be distorted;
• subtle shades of meaning can be confused;
• pieces of information can be forgotten;
• minor points may seem more important than
major points.
• In addition, the wording of the
communication may suffer.
Uncertainty, nervousness, and
confusion can creep into the
speaker's voice, resulting in a less
assertive statement.
Communicating Effectively - Verbal
Communication
• Verbal communication means talking.
The goal in communicating verbally is
to convey a message to another
person so that the other person
understands it exactly as the person
talking intended it.
• A well communicated message is one
which the other person can
accurately repeat back in his own
words. Verbal communication can be
made more effective by:
• Talking about specific rather than general situations.

o Using concrete language, e.g., "merchandise"

rather than "stuff".
o Using words familiar to employees; explaining
unfamiliar words.
o Including an example to illustrate the point.
o Giving sufficient detail to convey the point.
o Giving details slowly and in order.
o Making it a practice to address the five "W"
questions in the topic (if applicable).
• Who is involved?
What is the situation; how did it begin?
When will it occur?
Where is it taking place? What you think,
believe, feel?
Why will it happen? Why is this important?
Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal communication
refers to the gestures and body positions
that accompany ones speaking. All people
display certain gestures or lack of them
when talking. It is important to be aware of
your nonverbal communication, for it plays
a big role in making your total
communication effective.
• Effective communication occurs when a
person's verbal message and nonverbal
message both "say the same thing".
Problems in communication occur when
the speaker's words say one thing, but his
gestures and body language says
something else.
Types of Nonverbal Communication
• All of the following "says something". In the specific
context, they should correspond and reinforce the
spoken message.
• o Eye contact.
o Position of our arms and legs.
o The distance we stand from others when talking to
them.
o Where we sit at a table or in relation to others.
o Smiling.
o Nodding or other head movements.
The manager can use nonverbal
behaviors in two ways.
• when speaking, he can monitor his own nonverbal
behavior and try to make sure it corresponds and
emphasizes what he is verbally saying.
• For example:
• o When taking charge of a situation, the manager
should have good eye contact with his
subordinates,
• stand in a straight posture, use a firm but not
overbearing voice, and point to what he wants
done.
• Upon noticing customers, the employee
should smile to indicate friendliness,
• make eye contact to acknowledge the
customer's presence,
• tune his body in the direction of the
customer to indicate his willingness to help
if needed.
• The other way a manager can use
nonverbal behavior is in "listening to what
others are really saying".

• If the manager notices the employee saying

one thing verbally but another thing non
verbally, then the manager should suspect
that the verbal message being said may be
somewhat "incomplete".
• Active listening skills is what separates the good from
the great. Learn to listen with your ears, eyes and
perception paying attention to both the verbal and
nonverbal communication.

For example:
• An employee who says that he would feel comfortable
doing a task but who exhibits folded arms, crossed
legs, and tensed neck muscles might not be feeling as
comfortable as he thinks. The manager who suspects
this might need to keep his eye on this situation.
Written Communication

• In written communication, the simpler,

shorter, and more direct the better. This
can be remembered by the equation:
• Effectiveness = Conciseness =
Completeness
Try the following tips for achieving
concise and complete communication.
o Use simple words; your goal is not to impress
your reader with your vocabulary, it is to get the
point across.

o Make sure the words exactly express the

thought; different words can slant the entire
message of your point.
• o Make the sentence structure clear; poor
grammar, run on sentences, etc., can distort
the point you want to make.
o Use a different paragraph for each complete
unit of thought.
o Make sure all of the necessary information is
included.
o Anticipate questions and include the answers
in your message.
o Use only essential words and phrases.
Make sure your facts, dates, times, etc.,
are correct
o Consider the tone of the memorandum. Make
sure it doesn't contain antagonism or
preaching. if you are upset about something, it
is OK to write out your thoughts and ideas for
making the situation better.
Make sure your facts, dates, times, etc.,
are correct
• Then make sure you do not send it, until you read it the
next day. You will find in most cases that what you want
to say does not change, but how you say it will change
dramatically once you are over the emotions you
attached to it.

o Make sure it is neat in appearance.

• Remember all written memorandums have
a dual purpose: you want the reader to
receive your message and you want to do
it the shortest, quickest way possible
without leaving out necessary information.

• All memorandums written in this way will

be a good reflection upon you.
Phone Conversations
• Phone conversations do not give us access to
the body language of the other person, hence,
we miss the nonverbal cues accompanying the
words.
• On the other hand, phone communication does
allow us to take into account the tone of voice
the other person is using, unlike written
communication/email.
Phone Conversations
• Talking on the phone lies between
face-to-face communication and
written communication in regard to
information we can receive from the
other person.
• voice tones mean. Remember, you
can't talk to someone on the phone
and someone in front of you both at
the same time and do justice to either
party.
• Voice tone can be used in two ways.
First, we can vary our voice tone to
reinforce what we are saying verbally.
Managers can convey competence,
sincerity, and trust through the tone of
their voice when talking to customers
or employees.
• When talking to someone you have spoken
to before, pay attention to changes in their
usual voice qualities.
• Some people speak slow, loud, or clear.
When these people change their normal
voice qualities, they are communicating
something extra to us. It is up to us to look
for cues to detect what these changes in
customary
• Secondly, we can pay attention to other
people's tone of voice, much like
nonverbal behavior, to check on unspoken
feelings and thoughts.
• To do this accurately, practice listening to
both the words and the tone of the voice
that carries the words.
Communicating to a Group
• Communicating to a group can be as simple as
making an announcement or as complex as
running a training program requiring much group
participation. Much of what has been presented
in this training applies to communicating to a
group.
Communicating to a Group
• Talking effectively and using nonverbal
body language to correspond to the
spoken words can all be used in group
settings. A particularly skillful speaker can
even "read" the nonverbal cues of the
group as a whole and use this information
to adjust his talk.
• Pre-communication factors,
such as your appearance, credibility,
and the specifics of the situation plays
large part in establishing a successful
presentation.
Listening - Why you Should Listen to
Your Employees

o Employees might have helpful ideas.

o Employees might know causes of
problems in the workplace.
o Employees might be able to warn me
about potential problems I haven't yet
recognized.
o How employees feel about things can be
a tip-of future problems.
Ways of Not Listening
• o Signing routine papers.
o Sorting papers.
o Allowing long telephone interruptions.
o Sneaking looks at the time.
o Gazing out of the window, or at distractions passing by.
o Maintaining pre-occupied facial expressions.
o Calling orders to other employees in between
sentences.
o Fidgeting nervously, shaking foot, playing with gadgets,
coffee cup, etc.
Inhibiting Communication from Your
Employees

• Avoid the following to prevent cutting off

future communication from your employees:
• o Blaming the employee who gave you bad
news.
o Getting angry.
o "Falling apart".
o Demanding the employee to justify work
that is reported to be not going well.
How should you react to news

React to bad news by remaining objective;

keep your emotions under control; switch
to a "problem-solving", "let's get this
situation corrected" approach. Respond to
good news with praise, acknowledgment
and appreciation
Active Listening
Active listening is comprised of three
separate and important skills: attention
skills, following skills, and responding
skills. Attention skills are those actions you
take to put the talker at ease, to non
verbally show you are listening, and to
best "pay attention to" what the other
person is trying to say.
• Maintaining eye contact, eliminating
distractions, and concentrating on
both the verbal and nonverbal are
examples of attention skills.
Following Skills
o These are the skills we use to encourage the
conversation along; to get the point the person is
making. Nodding our heads, saying "uh-huh", "I
see", and "go on" are following skills.
o Asking appropriate questions to bring out the point
is a following skill as is allowing silences without
jumping in. All following skills serve two purposes:
- to indicate to the speaker that you are "with him"
- and to help him get the point across.
Responding Skills
- This is where we determine if we received and
interpreted the message as the speaker intended it. Say
something like, "If I understand correctly, you are saying ...
" and go on to paraphrase that we understand, using our
own words.

- Check out the facts and ideas, the main point of what
the speaker said. It is only after we are sure that we
understood the message as intended, can we then
evaluate, judge, take action, or supply an answer or
comment.
Upward Communication

If we will be communicating to our immediate

supervisor, our message might be prepared,
formulated, and presented in a specific manner.
For example, if we need to seek assistance from
our supervisor, asking an open-ended question
will result in more information than a question
that can be answered yes or no.
Peer Communication

If the communication is intended for a peer,

the message might be less "formally"
prepared and presented.

For example, less background information

might need to be given since the peer can
"easily relate" to the situation to be
described
Downward Communication
o The manager who is communicating to his
subordinate may need to do so in a different
way than to others.
o Clear, concise, directions might be the
format for much of the messages the
manager gives to his employees.
o In addition, the manager may follow-up
many of his messages with, "Do you have
any questions?".
Checking For Understanding
o When communicating with employees, it is
always a good idea to check for understanding.
o Simply take a second and ask " recap for me
what I have asked you to do." By doing this, you
can clear up any missed communication that
may have taken place.
o This step is helpful for both parties as it allows
them to communicate back to you that they
heard and understood your direction. This is a
critical step in delegation of tasks.
Communicating With Customers
o Communicating to a customer also affects
how the message is formulated and
delivered.

o Messages conveyed to customers need

to be totally accurate and delivered in a
professional and friendly manner
Purpose of the Communication
A manager may communicate for any of the following
reasons:
• o To motivate employees.
o To teach, instruct, or explain a task.
o To counsel an employee.
o To seek information or assistance.
o To correct an employee's behavior.
o To be persuasive.
o To socialize.
Purpose of the Communication
• With each of these purposes, the
communication changes in order to accomplish
our goal.
• One of my favorite leaders use to say, that you
will have become a master of communication
when you are able to tell someone where to go
and to have them looking forward to the trip!
WE ALL USE LANGUAGE TO COMMUNICATE, TO
EXPRESS OUR SELVES, TO GET OUR IDEAS
ACCROS, AND TO CONNECT WITH THE
PERSON TO WHOM WE ARE SPEAKING,
WHEN A RELATIONSHIP IS WORKING, THE
ART OF COMMUNICATING SEEMS TO FLOW
RELATIVELY SMOOTHLY, WHEN RELATIONSHIP
IS DETERIORATING, THE ART OF
COMMUNICATING CAN BE A FRUSTRATING AS
CLIMBING A HILL OF SAND. ---------
CHIP ROSE, ATTY
AND MEDIATOR
 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS
ARE ESSENTIALS, UNFORTUNATELY,
GOOD COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS ARE
SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE TAKE FOR
GRANTED AND RARELY IMPROVED.
SO DON’T ASSUME IF YOU HAVE MOUTH
AND TWO EARS, THAT YOU KNOW
HOW TO COMMUNICATE--- a mother
advice to his son
• To be a great leader you
must be a great
communicator
MARAMING
SALAMAT PO