In this criteria titled 'Assessing my Communication and Interpersonal skills', I will be assessing my communication and interpersonal skills in the relation to each interaction such as through group communication as well as one to one communication based on my work experience in a health and social...
Assessing my communication and interpersonal skills
In this criterion I will be assessing my communication and interpersonal skills in the relation to each
interaction such as through group communication as well as one to one communication which I did
during my work experience. Good communication is important in health and social care because it
can enable one to form trust relationships between the service user and whoever is providing the
services to the client.
One to one communication
During my work experience, I had the opportunity to engage in one to one communication as my
placement which was Shine Sexual Health Clinic, required me to visit NewVic college in the link
where my role was to interact with different people around the college to educate them about the
benefits of having knowledge about sexual health, how they could protect themselves from sexual
transmitted infections as well as doing a condom demonstration to ensure that people are extra safe
during intercourse in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I started my interaction by making eye
contact with the individual that stopped by at the table and asked if they knew how to use a
condom. I was scored a 5 for my eye contact because I always looked the service users in the eye
throughout our interaction without shying away and feeling confident during the communication. I
listened to them as they gave an explanation on how they thought they could wear a condom and
carefully observed as they demonstrated it. For my listening skills I was scored a 5 because I believe I
was paying attention to what the service user was saying without interrupting them whenever they
were speaking. I was able to encourage them to give it a try despite them being unsure and ask
questions whenever necessary which made them feel comfortable with interacting with me. I was
scored a 5 on my ability to encourage people to talk because I was able to use methods such as
engaging in a Q&A games with one of the individuals to encourage them to talk while making the
interaction more enjoyable. L was able to use a range of other interpersonal skills that I had learned
in Health and social care unit 1 such as speaking in a clear voice and tone so that my message about
the benefits of having safe sexual intercourse could be heard clearly in order for the individuals to be
able to respond the message in return such as by asking questions to confirm any doubts that they
could be having
I also used appropriate verbal language which is the sharing and exchange of information between
individuals through the use of speech. I was able to use appropriate verbal language by speaking in a
clear tone of voice with easier words that can be understood by everyone including those who did
not understand English as well as by writing it out on a piece of paper for people who had difficulty
hearing. I was scored a 5 for my use of appropriate verbal language because I used a range of verbal
communication skills such as writing as well as physically speaking to the individuals during the
interaction. The use of appropriate verbal language benefitted both the service user and I because it
clarified the actions I was trying to demonstrate and minimise miscommunication and provide any
information that the service user might have missed as well as creating new trust relationship
between the service user and I as well as learning new skills and information from each other. The
use of appropriate verbal language also enables both the service user and I to feel a sense of respect
towards each other as it showed perhaps how confident I was in what I was communication and it
was a quick and efficient method of communication because it allowed for any questions to be
answered easily between the service user and me.
, Another interpersonal skill I was able to use was through the use of facial expressions. Facial
expressions are a way of non-verbal communication to express particular emotion and mood. I was
able to use clear facial expressions by smiling in order to show openness and friendliness towards
the individual I was communicating with at the individual I was which enables them to feel
comfortable during our interaction. I was scored a 5 for my facial expressions because I was able to
use my face o express my emotions as well as reading other people's facial expressions. Facial
expressions are important because they are a way of conveying countless emotions without having
to say a single word which makes it important because it allows individuals to communicate
important messages subtly such as if the service user may be feeling perhaps such as feeling
uncomfortable which they may not want people hearing about their emotions. Facial expressions
benefitted both me and the service user because they were able to express how confused they were
with their facial movements which I was able to catch on and ask if he needed help with anything.
Proximity was another skill from health and social care I was able to apply during my one to one
interactions with the individual in my work experience. Proximity is the term used to refer to how
close or close a person is to each other. There was a table between the individual and me which
means we were both able to maintain reasonable personal distance between each other to avoid
getting in each other’s personal space which could have created tension or lead the service user to
feel uncomfortable and sometimes intimidated which can then mean that the message would not
have been delivered efficiently. I was scored a 5 for my proximity because I was able to maintain the
right amount of personal space between me and the individual throughout the communication
process. I also stayed close to the service user in order to clearly hear what they were saying as well
as being able to see their eye contact and facial expressions clearly which perhaps enabled them to
feel comfortable around me and open up more. The use of proximity benefited both the service user
and I were able to clearly hear the conversation as well as being able to feel comfortable as the
interaction was taking place which formed a new trust relationship between the service user and I
During my one, to one interaction I was also able to use interpersonal skills as taught in unit 1 such
as hand gestures. Hand gestures are a way of non-verbal communication where a person makes
subtle hand movements in order to reinforce what they could be trying to say. For this interpersonal
skill I was able to score a 5 because was able to incorporate hand gestures during my interaction by
using my fingers to indicate a list of important things to think about when using protection such as
condoms for the first time or just needs any form of clarification they could be unsure about. The
use of hand gestures is important because it reinforces clearly any messages that the service user as
well as creating a vivid image of the message for the individual which can then be easily
remembered in the future. The use of hand gestures is beneficial for both the service users and the
service provider because it enables the message of the service provider to be delivered efficiently
and effectively and allow the service user to process the important information clearly and
remember it easily.
Another interpersonal skill I was able to use during my interaction was pacing the conversation
evenly which is the natural rate at which a person speaks. I was scored a 5 for this interpersonal skill
because I was able to pace the conversation between the service user and I by speaking in a
moderate speed as well as speaking in a clear tone and was pausing at intervals to ensure that I give
the individual time to process and ask any questions about the information I delivered. The pacing of
speech is important because with the right pace the individual could pick up and understand what I
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