Communication

Introduction

Communication is a part of our daily lives.

It involves conveying messages orally or in writing and convincing others.
Moreover, communication goes beyond mere words; it helps build relationships.

Often, poor or inadequate communication leads to conflicts and misunderstandings.

Instead of expecting everyone to do things your way, it is crucial to start communicating effectively.

Are You Okay?

In this era, the way we interact with people has become increasingly impersonal, most replaced by cold texts in messengers.

During my university year, I heard an aboriginal village head deliver a speech:" When I entered this auditorium, I felt a cold atmosphere. Everyone sat in their own seats without greeting each other. We may be in the same place, but we all seemed like strangers. No one bothers to say hello. Let's not forget, we live in a society."

She further added," My phone is always on, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Why? So that if anyone needs my help, they can reach me. I may not have much, but it is sufficient."

Effective Communication

Professor Mehrabian believes effective communication of emotions or attitudes involve 3 core elements:

Nonverbal behaviour (e.g. facial expression)
Tone of voice
Literal meaning of the spoken words

In other words, it is not just what we said, but how we say it that matters.

The same sentence, when spoken with a higher pitch or accompanied by offensive body language, can evoke entirely different emotions or responses in the audience.

Here are few useful communication strategies:

Active and emphatic listening, including appropriate eye contact and body language.

Avoid looking away or (worse) raise your eyes skywards.
Avoid keep checking your watch, playing with pieces of paper, fussing with your clothes or playing with your mobile.
Nod or tilt your head on one side to show that you are listening.

Speak clearly and slowly.
Using open-ended and close-ended questions.
Be careful about personal space.
Avoiding the use of overly technical terms.
Refrain from asking "why" question or talking excessively about yourself.
Employing the sandwich method: Positive + negative + positive.

Useful Tips

People's first impressions are made before you utter a word.

Are you dressed appropriately?
Do you look friendly or strict?

When stepping out of the workplace or home, remember to change your role, thoughts and moods.

Every day, whether at work or at home, we encounter conflicts and dissatisfactions. However, we often carry these conflicts with us from work to home or vice versa, which can turn us into angry parents or workers due to unrelated reasons.
Depending on where we are, we should be the person that we should be, a good parent or a helpful pharmacist.
Reflect on the good values that a parent or pharmacist should possess and put them into practice.
The world is full of good people; if you can't find one, be one.

Another valuable tip for managing emotion in chaotic situation is to take a deep breath to calm yourself before responding.

You can practice this before answering any phone calls

When dealing with conflicts,

Stay calm and composed.
Listen to the other person's point of view.
Try to find common ground.
Be willing to compromise.
If necessary, walk away and come back to the conversation later.

NOTE: Never take work issues too personally. In 10 years time, they will be in the past.

Case Discussion: People Expectations

When working in a community pharmacy, you may have heard your boss said, it is not just about price wars, but more importantly, customer service.

A good customer service will keep your customers coming back.

In today's world, people are no longer just looking for a service, but demanding soft skills.

To illustrate, everyone knows that if they walk into a bank, they can withdraw money from his saving account.
What they now looking for is a sense of warmth, a pinch of patience and a handful of kindness.

Often, at my hospital, most complains from the public about healthcare professionals are not related to medication error, but rather those things that we deemed to be unimportant, such as poor attitude or long waiting time.

Sometimes, action speaks louder than words.

We choose to do the correct things without first explaining to the customers in front of us (such as a pharmacist leaves the dispensing counter to re-fill the correct medication).
But from customers' view of point, they are being left there all of a sudden.
Would it make customers to feel more respected if we explain properly first?

Hence, with a good communication, we can manage people's expectations (because some expectations are unrealistic).

Summary

I believe, many of us know what makes a good personality, and what are the critical steps in communication (such as smiling, be empathy, be helpful).

However, theory sometimes is not practical in real life.
A very simple example would be is it really a simple task for us to give 600 times smiles and greetings (such as "how are you today?") in 5 hours?

However, it is important to step back and reflect if your communications with patients or customers is done in a professional manner.

Remember, the incidents that you observe at a place or comments that you hear from someone else often influence our first impression on a work culture (which can include how they treat their customers).

Hence, have you decided to make a change, to become a better you?

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