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Chapter 3
Effective Communication in Nursing
Maureen Nokuthula Sibiya
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74995
Abstract
Nurses are critical in the delivery of essential health services and are core in strengthen-
ing the health system. They bring people-centred care closer to the communities where
they are needed most, thereby helping improve health outcomes and the overall cost-
efectiveness of services. Nurses usually act as irst responders to complex humanitarian
crises and disasters; protectors and advocates for the community and communicators
and co-ordinators within teams. Communication is a core component of sound relation-
ships, collaboration and co-operation, which in turn are essential aspects of professional
practice. The quality of communication in interactions between nurses and patients has
a major inluence on patient outcomes. Increases in nursing communication can lessen
medical errors and make a diference in positive patient outcomes. This chapter explores
how efective communication and interpersonal skills can enhance professional nursing
practice and nursing relationships with various stakeholders. It explains principles of
communication, communication process, purpose of communication, types of communi-
cation, barriers to efective communication, models of communication and strategies of
improving communication and guidelines for successful therapeutic interactions.
Keywords:
communication, communication skills, feedback, non-verbal
communication, nurse–patient relationship, nursing verbal communication
1. Introduction
Nurses are critical in the delivery of essential health services and are core in strengthening
the health system [1, 2]. They bring people-centred care closer to the communities where they
are needed most, thereby helping improve health outcomes and the overall cost-efectiveness
of services [3]. Nurses usually act as irst responders to complex humanitarian crises and
disasters; protectors and advocates for the community and communicators and co-ordinators
within teams. Communication skills for nurses are essential but may be diicult to master.
© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Communication is the exchange of information between people by sending and receiving it
through speaking, writing or by using any other medium. Clear communication means that
information is conveyed efectively between people. To be a successful nurse, excellent com-
munication skills are required [4]. Nurses speak to people of varying educational, cultural
and social backgrounds and must do so in an efective, caring and professional manner, espe-
cially when communicating with patients and their families [5]. The quality of communication
in interactions between nurses and patients has a major inluence on patient outcomes. This
inluence can play a very important role in areas such as patient health, education and adher-
ence [6]. Good communication plays an important role in the organization’s efective function-
ing [7–9]. A nurse must therefore, continuously try to improve his/her communication skills as
poor communication can be dangerous and lead to confusion.
2. Principles of communication
Principles of communication can be summarized as follows:
• Communication is a process;
• Communication is not linear, but circular;
• Communication is complex;
• Communication is irreversible; and
• Communication involves the total personality [5].
3. Communication process
Interaction between people is cyclic, which means that what one person says and does evokes
a reaction from the other person, and this reaction again stimulates another reaction from the
irst person [10, 11]. Three things are needed for successful communication. They are:
1.
A sender;
2.
A clear message; and
3.
A receiver [12].
4. Purpose of communication
The purpose of communication is to inquire, inform, persuade, entertain, request and investigate.
A single message can have one or more of the following purposes:
• To convey information/opinion, for example, “I have headache” or “I am here to give you
medication”.
Nursing
20
• To request information/opinion/behavior, for example, “Are you allergic to penicillin?” or
“Tell me more about the injury”.
• To give social acknowledgement, for example, “Hello” or “Good morning”.
These three primary types of messages can be combined in many ways so that they form an
interaction (conversation). The goals of the interaction can be comprehensive. Nurses strive
to make all their communication with patients therapeutic, that is, their communication is
purposefully and consciously planned to promote the patient’s health and wellbeing.
5. Types of communication
Verbal and non-verbal communications are the two main types of communication used by
human beings.
5.1. Verbal communication
Verbal communication is associated with spoken words and is vitally important in the health-
care context. Members of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team communicate verbally with
one another and with patients as well as family members.
5.2. Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication is not reliant on words. It is sent through the use of one’s body
rather than through speech or writing. This kind of communication, called body language,
can tell a great deal or can totally the wrong impression. It is worth noting that body language
may indicate a diferent meaning to what is spoken. As approximately 60% of communica-
tion is non-verbal, non-verbal skills are essential for efective communication [8]. Often non-
verbal messages send stronger signals than verbal messages. Non-verbal communication is
made up of:
• Accent
• Bodily contact
• Direction of gaze
• Emotive tone in speech
• Facial and gestural movements
• Physical appearance
• Posture
• Proximity
• Speech errors
• Timing of speech [5, 8–10].
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21
6. Communication process
The communication process may be explained by means of a linear model of communication,
interactive model of communication or transactional model of communication [11].
6.1. Linear model of communication
Linear model of communication entails a sender, a message, a receiver and noise (
Figure 1
).
6.2. Interactive model of communication
Interactive model of communication gives a slightly more complex explanation of the com-
munication process. Communication is seen as a process in which the listener gives feed-
back or responds to a message after a process of interpretation. A communicator creates and
interprets a message with a personal ield of expertise and/or a frame of reference
Figure 2
).
Figure 1.
Linear model of communication.
Figure 2.
Interactive model of communication.
Nursing
22
6.3. Transactional model of communication
Transactional model of communication acknowledges and gives emphasis to the dynamic nature
of interpersonal communication and the multiple roles of the communicators. Features such as
time, messages, noise, ields of experience, frames of reference, meanings, shared systems of com-
municators and personal systems all pay a role in the process of communication. Communicators
often participate simultaneously (sending, receiving and interpreting). The unique interpretive
and perceptual processes of individuals thus play an essential role in the communication process.
7. Barriers to efective communication
Efective communication skills and strategies are important for nurses. Clear communication
means that information is conveyed efectively between the nurse, patients, family members
and colleagues. However, it is recognized that such skills are not always evident and nurses
do not always communicate well with patients, family members and colleagues. The message
sent may not be the message received. The meaning of a message depends on its literal mean-
ing, the non-verbal indicators accompanying it and the context in which it is delivered. It is
therefore, easy to misinterpret the message, or to interpret it correctly, but to decide not to
pursue its hidden meaning this leads to obstruction to communication. Continuous barriers
to efective communication brings about a gradual breakdown in relationships. The barriers
to efective communication outlined below will help nurses to understand the challenges [8].
7.1. Language barrier
Language diferences between the patient and the nurse are another preventive factor in efec-
tive communication. When the nurse and the patient do not share a common language, inter-
action between them is strained and very limited [9–11]. Consequently, a patient may fail to
understand the instructions from a nurse regarding the frequency of taking medication at home.
7.2. Cultural diferences
Culture is another hindrance. The patient’s culture may block efective nurse–patient interac-
tions because perceptions on health and death are diferent between patients [12–14]. The nurse
needs to be sensitive when dealing with a patient from a diferent culture [9, 15, 16]. What is
acceptable for one patient may not be acceptable for another. Given the complexity of culture,
no one can possibly know the health beliefs and practices of every culture. The nurse needs
check with the patient whether he/she prefers to be addressed by irst name or surname. The
use of eye contact, touching and personal space is diferent in various cultures and rules about
eye contact are usually complex, varying according to race, social status and gender. Physical
contact between sexes is strictly forbidden in some cultures and can include handshakes, hug-
ging or placing a hand on the arm or shoulder. A ‘yes’ does not always mean ‘yes’. A smile does
not indicate happiness, recognition or agreement. Whenever people communicate, there is a ten-
dency to make value judgements regarding those perceived as being diferent. Past experiences
can change the meaning of the message. Culture, background and bias can be good if they allow
one to use past experiences to understand something new; it is when they change meaning of
Effective Communication in Nursing
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23
the message that they interfere with the communication process [12]. It is important for nurses
to think about their own experiences when considering cultural diferences in communication
and how these can challenge health professionals and service users.
7.3. Conlict
Conlict is a common efect of two or more parties not sharing common ground. Conlict can
be healthy in that it ofers alternative views and values. However, it becomes a barrier to
communication when the emotional ‘noise’ detracts from the task or purpose. Nurses aim for
collaborative relationships with patients, families and colleagues.
7.4. Seting in which care is provided
The factors in care seting may lead to reduction in quality of nurse–patient communica-
tion. Increased workload and time constraints restrict nurses from discussing their patients
concerns efectively [16]. Nurses work in busy environments where they are expected to
complete a speciic amount of work in a day and work with a variety of other profession-
als, patients and their families. The roles are hard, challenging and tiring. There is a culture
to get the work done. Some nurses may consider colleagues who spend time talking with
patients to be avowing the ‘real’ work and lazy. Nurses who might have been conident
in spending time with patients in an area where this was valued, when faced with a task-
orientated culture have the dilemma of iting into the group or being outside the group and
spending time engaging with patients. Lack of collaboration between the nurses and the
doctors in information sharing also hinder efective communication. This leads to inconsis-
tencies in the information given to patients making comprehension diicult for the patient
and their families.
7.5. Internal noise, mental/emotional distress
Internal noise has an impact on the communication process. Fear and anxiety can afect the
person’s ability to listen to what the nurse is saying. People with feelings of fear and anger can
ind it diicult to hear. Illness and distress can alter a person’s thought processes. Reducing
the cause of anxiety, distress, and anger would be the irst step to improving communication.
7.6. Perception
If a healthcare professional feels that the person is talking too fast, not luently, or does not
articulate clearly etc., he/she may dismiss the person. Our preconceived atitudes afect our
ability to listen. People tend to listen uncritically to people of high status and dismiss those
of low status.
7.7. Diiculty with speech and hearing
People can experience diiculty in speech and hearing following conditions like stroke or
brain injury. Stroke or trauma may afect brain areas that normally enable the individual to
comprehend and produce speech, or the physiology that produces sound. These will present
barriers to efective communication.
Nursing
24
7.8. Medication
Medication can have a signiicant efect on communication for example it may cause dry
mouth or excess salivation, nausea and indigestion, all of which inluence the person’s ability
and motivation to engage in conversation. If patients are embarrassed or concerned that they
will not be able to speak properly or control their mouth, they could be reluctant to speak.
7.9. Noise
Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and the
receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages they send to each other without
any distraction.
8. Improving communication
Some ways of improving communication are as follows:
• Listen without interrupting the sender.
• Show empathy at all times and try to understand.
• Try to stay focused on the conversation. Do not however, force the patient to continue if he/
she becomes anxious or seems to wish to change the subject.
• Use the body language that indicates your interest and concern. Touch the patient if it
seems appropriate. Lean forward, listen intently and maintain eye contact if it culturally
acceptable.
• Ofer factual information. This relieves anxiety. Do not ofer your personal opinion. Assure
the patient that you have professional discretion.
• Try to relect the feelings and thoughts the patient is expressing by rephrasing questions
and comments using their own words.
• Avoid unclear or misleading messages.
• Avoid giving long explanations.
• Give your co-workers your full atention when communicating with them.
• Ask questions to clarify unclear messages.
• Do not interrupt until the sender has completed the message.
• Provide a quiet environment without distractions.
• Be convincing wen communicating [17].
9. Communicating with patients
There are several points to be kept in mind when communicating with patients. The irst point
is that you are there to provide care and support to the patient.
Effective Communication in Nursing
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• Be open, respectful and gracious in all your interactions with the patient and keep his/her
cultural preferences in mind.
• Answer nurses’ bells promptly.
• Make sure you have the patients’ atention when communicating.
• Use words that are non-threatening – explain what you would like to do and do not give
orders to the patient.
• Use simple, understandable phrases, not medical terms as most patients do not understand
these terms.
• Speak clearly and courteously.
• Use a pleasant and normal tone of voice to the hard of hearing.
• Always stand so that the patient can see the nurse’s face when communicating, as lip read-
ing is part of all normal hearing.
• Use body language that is appropriate.
• Explain facts and procedures before donning a mask that covers the wearer’s mouth and
lower face.
• Be alert to the patient’s needs. Allow time for answers to your requests and to answer pa-
tient’s questions [17].
10. Communicating by phone
Nurses often communicate over the phone with patients, family members and colleagues and
this can lead to misunderstandings. The way in which the pone is answered and a message is
interpreted needs special skills because the body language of the person at the other end of
the phone line cannot be seen. When answering the phone or making a call:
• Always speak clearly into the mouthpiece of the phone.
• Ofer a greeting for example, good morning or good afternoon.
• Identify the unit or place of work.
• Identify yourself by indicating who you are and where you are phoning from.
• Identify the person to whom you are speaking.
• Politely listen to the message and make notes if you think you may not remember all the
information.
• If you are asked to call another person, note the date, time, caller’s name and telephone
number together with the message.
• Date and sign the message [17].
Nursing
26
11. Assertive communication
The skill of assertiveness is important to nurses. Nurses are expected to be the patients’ advo-
cates. So, they need to have the assertive communication skills in order to be able to be patients’
advocates. Assertiveness enables a person to be honest with him/herself and in relationships with
others. Assertiveness helps to enhance relationships, avoid power games and is a vehicle for clear
outcomes. Hargis as cited by van Niekerk identiies four elements of assertive communication [8]:
•
Content
– where the rights of the people involved are embedded gently in the statement. This
could be done by using an explanation, empathy for the listener, and praise for the listener, an
apology for the consequence for the listener or a compromise that is favorable to both people.
•
Covert elements
– where the speaker is able to recognize their rights and the rights of the lis-
tener in the communication process. These include respect, expressing feelings, having your
own priorities, being able to say ‘no’, being able to make mistakes and choosing to say nothing.
•
Process
– concerned with how people express themselves assertively. Is their body lan-
guage, intonation and choice of language relective of a conident assertive person? Are the
processes that make up communication congruent, in keeping with what is being said? The
process also involves managing the seting so that people are not embarrassed, or the noise
levels are kept to a minimum. Increasing the likelihood of assertive communication happen-
ing again involves feedback to the listener to show that their accomplishment is appreciated.
•
Non-verbal cues
– gesture, touch, proxemics and posture – also need to relect conidence,
regard and respect for self and others.
12. Therapeutic interactions
Therapeutic interactions are purposeful as opposed to social. Social interaction entertains the
participants, but in a professional situation, the nurse usually has a clinical objective that he/
she wants to achieve with communication. The nurses therefore, decides on the purpose of the
interaction before or shortly after it begins. The following purposes are common in nursing:
•
Assess a patient
: The nurse wants to know more about a patient to identify his/her prob-
lems. This type of conversation can be a structured interview using an interview schedule.
The purpose of this conversation is always a beter understanding of the patient.
•
Instruct a patient
: Patient instruction may vary from an informal conversation during
which few facts are conveyed to an elaborate instruction session.
•
Problem solving
: If a patient discuss his/her problems with a nurse, the nurse helps the
patient to analyze the problem, consider possible alternative ways of handling it and how
to decide which way is the best. Problem solving is done with the patients and not for them.
•
Give emotional support
: The presence of an empathetic nurse, that is, one who can enter
into the patient’s shoes and understand the patient’s experience, is immensely supportive
of the patient. Emotional support alleviates the loneliness of the patient’s experience of
illness and increases his/her dignity [17].
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13. Guidelines for successful therapeutic interactions
After the purpose of the therapeutic interaction has been established, the following guidelines
assist in conducting a successful interaction:
13.1. Maintaining a low-authority proile
The nurse must strive to maintain a low-authority proile at the beginning of the conversation.
As the conversation progresses, the nurse can use more directive techniques to ind out spe-
ciic information. There are usually diferences in age, sex, occupation, cultural background,
moral and religious convictions between the nurse and the patient. These diferences make it
impossible for the nurse to fully understand the patient’s behavior and reactions. It is there-
fore, important for the nurse to understand and accept diferences in patients’ cultures and
beliefs. When in doubt, check with the patient. If trust is established, patient will be willing to
teach the nurse.
13.2. Use of understandable language
The nurse should determine the patient’s level of understanding and if necessary change the
use of language, comments and questions. Using the terminology which the patient does
not understand can also frighten the patient and make him/her think that he/she has a more
serious problem than he/she originally wanted help for. At the same time, the patient could
give incorrect information because due to confusion, he/she may give airmative answers
to questions about symptoms that he/she has not actually experienced [18]. Nurses should
share their aims with patients before expecting them to participate in the interaction. They
should understand that there is a mutual understanding of each other’s point of departure.
In an assessment interview, the nurse can, for instance, say: “Mr Jones, I would like to give
you information on how to lose weight so as to bring down you high blood pressure, but I
irst need to ind out what you already know about the condition”. It is not only important
that the patients understand what nurses expect from the conversation; it is also essential
that nurses understand the patients and convey this understanding before they participate
in the conversation. When providing emotional support, this understanding is often all that
is necessary. For nurses to understand patients, they must encourage them to talk – not just
about facts, but also about their feelings. The nurse must listen more than speak, both to
what the patient is saying verbally and what is being said non-verbally. Having listened
carefully, the nurse then concentrates and responds empathetically to the patients’ feelings.
Only when the nurse has a reasonably complete understanding of the patient’s situation
and has communicated this understanding, can she proceed to interventions, such as giving
information or solving a problem.
13.3. Tailor the message to the totality of the person
Saying something does not necessary mean that the message has been received and under-
stood. It is the responsibility of the nurse to ensure that the person with whom he/she is
Nursing
28
conversing understands the message. To ensure this, the message has to be adapted to the
language, culture and socio-economic status of the patient. The emotional or physical condi-
tion of patients may also make it diicult for them to receive long of complicated messages or
even any message. There may also be other disturbances in the immediate environment for
example, noise that can make the patient not to hear or understand the message. The message
must also be adapted to the age of the patient [10].
13.4. Validate the interpretation with the patient
Validation means that you ask the patient whether your interpretation is correct or not.
You therefore, ask him/her to conirm your understanding of what he/she said. Many mis-
understandings arise because people interpret other people’s words without checking their
interpretation. The nurse should try to eliminate misunderstandings in the conversations by
checking meaning with the patient.
13.5. Active listening
Active listening means concentrating all your senses and thoughts on the speaker. One can
usually deduce whether a person is listening actively by looking at the following non-verbal
indicators:
• Is the eye contact maintained with the person who is speaking?
• Are the body and face turned towards the speaker?
It is, of course, also clear from the verbal responses:
• Are there regular verbal responses, even if these consist only of encouraging sounds?
• Does the response indicate understanding, not only of the facts, but also of the feelings and
the implications of the facts?
It is much easier to speak than to listen. Nurses are, in general, very active people, who want
help b acting quickly. To ‘just listen’ without expressing opinions or ofering advice is there-
fore, often not in their nature. Active listening is a valuable skill to acquire [10, 17, 18].
13.6. Evaluate own communication
In the interest of nurse–patient relationship, it is essential that they ascertain whether their
communication has been successful. The following criteria can be used:
•
Simplicity
: Say what you want to say concisely and without using diicult or unfamiliar
terms.
•
Clarity
: Say precisely what you want to say without digressing, and support your verbal
message with non-verbal indicators.
•
Relevance
: Make sure that your message suits the situation, the time and the person you
are speaking to.
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•
Adaptability
: Adapt your response to the clues the patient that the patient gives you.
•
Respect
: Always show respect for the individuality and dignity of the person you are
speaking to [17].
14. Therapeutic communication techniques
Table 1
gives an overview of therapeutic communication techniques and provides examples
of each technique [10, 13].
General
area of
issue
Therapeutic
communication
techniques
Rationale
Examples
To obtain
information
Make broad
opening remarks
This gives the patient the freedom to choose what
he/she wishes to talk about
“Please tell me more about
yourself”
Use open-ended
questions
This type of question allows the patient to talk about
his/her views about the subject. In this way, what the
patient sees as important, what his/her intellectual
capacity is and how well-orientated he/she is,
becomes clear. This encourages the patient to say
more and does not limit answers to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’
“How did you experience the
pain?”
“You say you felt dizzy, and
then…”
“Tell me more about that”
Share
observations and
thoughts
This shows that you are aware of what is happening
to the patient and encourages him/her to talk about
it
“You seem to be upset”
Confrontation
This entails confronting the patient with an
observation you have made and assess his/her
reaction to it. This technique is useful when verbal
and non-verbal communication do not match
“You say that your ankle is very
painful, but you do not react
when I bend the ankle. How is it
possible?”
Relection
This means that you repeat what the patient said
in the same or diferent words. This shows you
are involved in what the patient is saying and that
he/she should talk more about a speciic point, or
explain further
Patient: “It is sore”.
Nurse: “Very painful?”
Encourage
description
This is used to obtain more information about
patient’s views and feelings
“Tell me how it happened”
Validate what is
being said
This is to make sure that you understand the
patient correctly
“Do I understand you correctly
when you say…”
Ofer your
presence
The nurse ofers his/her atention and interest
without making demands
“I will be with you until they
come to fetch you for the
operation in theater”
Summarizing
By organizing and checking what the patient has
said, especially after a detailed discussion. This
technique is used to indicate that a speciic part of
the discussion is coming to an end and that if the
patient wishes to say any more, she should do so
“You went for a walk and then
you felt the sharp chest pains,
which radiated down your arm”
Use of
interpretation
Draw a conclusion from the information you have
gathered and discuss it with your patient to see
whether it is true. The patient can then disagree
with it, or conirm that your conclusions are true
“You must have been exhausted
after walking a long distance
from home to the hospital”
Nursing
30
General
area of
issue
Therapeutic
communication
techniques
Rationale
Examples
To give
support
Supportive
remarks
Make supportive remarks to encourage the patient
to participate in the conversation. Show that you
are listening
“Yes….”
“Mmmm…”
“Go on, I am listening”
Appropriately
touch the patient
Touch can assure the patient that the nurse cares
and is present
Hold his/her hand. Consider the
cultural belief and comfort of the
patient before touching
Paraphrasing
This conveys understanding of the patient’s basic
message
“It sounds as though the most
important problem is the diet”
To assist
in analysis
and
problem
solving
Acknowledge
the person
This promotes a sense of dignity
“Good morning Mr. Jones”
Sequencing
This helps the patient to see the connection between
the parts of an occurrence. To efectively assess
the patient’s needs, the nurse often needs to know
the time frame within which symptom sand /or
problems developed or occurred
“Did you experience this sharp
pain before or after eating?”
Ask for
clariication
This helps the nurse to understand and the patient
to communicate more clearly
“What do you mean by
everybody?”
Ask for
alternatives
This stimulates creative thought and promotes
inding solutions
“What else can you try?”
Use of transition
This is used to guide the conversation to another
subject, without losing the continuity of the
conversation
“It seems to me that you have
solved the problem of poor
appetite, but I would like to hear
more about your diabetes. How
long have you been aware of this
illness?”
Comparison
Use of examples and comparisons to concrete
objects. In this way, a vague or abstract concept
can be more easily explained
“Does the pain feel like a sharp
or a blunt object that hits you?”
Use silence
This gives the patient the chance to think, and/or to
his/her organize thoughts. Silence also give a nurse
an opportunity to observe the patient. However,
the nurse should avoid silences that last too long
because they can make the patient anxious
To instruct
the patient
Give information
This explains information and puts it at the patient’s
disposal
“After the operation, you will
have a drainage tube”
Orientate the
patient towards
reality
When the patient interprets something incorrectly,
the nurse draws his/her atention to reality
“I am not your daughter, I am
Nurse Jones”
Query what the
patient says
The patient’s observation is called into question
without belitling him/her, or arguing about it
Are you sure about that?”
Withhold social
reward
Do not give social approval to wrong behavior so as
not to encourage a repeat of the wrong behavior
Do not smile, nod or agree when
the patient jeopardizes his/her
recovery with wrong behavior
Give social
reward
Reward behavior that promotes health to encourage
a repeat of the correct behavior
Nod is approval at a patient with
a weight problem who declines
to eat a heavy meal
Table 1.
Therapeutic communication techniques.
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15. Counter-productive communication techniques
There are certain counter-productive communication techniques that the nurse should avoid
as they do not assist in the recovery of the patient and do not have any therapeutic value.
Table 2
shows counter-productive communication techniques, explains why these should be
avoided and gives examples [10, 18].
16. Conclusion
Promoting efective communication in health care is demanding and challenging because
of the nature of the work environment. Nurses who have received training in communi-
cation skills communicate efectively and show increased conidence in communicating
with patients. Many nurses choose to work in other countries, providing an opportunity to
Non-therapeutic
techniques
Rationale
Examples
Inappropriate
reassurance
The nurse atempts to brush aside the patient’s aside the
patient’s worry by acting as though it is unnecessary or
inappropriate. Reassurance is not based on fact or real
certainty. This helps the nurse more than it helps the patient
“Do not worry; everything
will be ine”
Passing judgment
The nurse passes judgment on the patient’s behavior, thoughts
or feelings and in doing so, places herself in the position of an
adversary or a person who knows beter and more
“As a Christian, I do not think
you should terminate this
pregnancy”
Giving advice
The nurse tells the patient how he/she ought to feel, think
or act. This implies that she has the correct information and
knows beter than the patient. This is particularly problematic
when the advice is based on limited assessment and
knowledge of the patient and the situation
“I think you must…”
Closed questions
These questions require only a single word as an answer when
speciic information is needed. If this type of question is used
often, the patient are less inclined to give the information
and may be interpreted as an interrogation
“Do you feel any pain in your
arm?”
‘Why’ questions
These questions demand that the patient explains behavior,
feelings or thoughts that he/she often does not understand
himself or herself. These questions are often asked early in a
conversation when the nurse cannot even be certain that the
patient wants to explain himself of herself to the nurse
“Why are you upset?”
Ofering platitudes
This is stereotyped expression of something the patient is in
any case aware of and which, therefore, helps litle. This is
similar to giving advice
“Everybody goes through
this in life”
Defensiveness
The nurse tries to defend someone or something the patient
criticized. This places the nurse and the patient on opposite
sides and does not promote further openness on the part of
the patient
“We are very short-stafed; so
we cannot help everyone at
the same time”
Table 2.
Non-therapeutic communication techniques that should be avoided.
Nursing
32
broaden their experience and knowledge. However, it is important that nurses who have
the opportunity to work in other countries develop communication skills, cultural aware-
ness and sensitivity before arriving. For example, in China talking about death is taboo
[19]. In South Africa, maintaining eye during communication may be regarded as being
disrespectful by Black people [11]. This article provides a relective account of the experi-
ences of one of the authors of working overseas. This chapter provides the efective com-
munication and interpersonal skills that enhance professional nursing practice and nursing
relationships by explaining principles of communication, communication process, purpose
of communication, types of communication, barriers to efective communication, models of
communication and strategies of improving communication and guidelines for successful
therapeutic interactions.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge the Durban University of Technology for funding this
book chapter.
Conlict of interest
The author declares that there is no conlict of interest in this chapter.
Author details
Maureen Nokuthula Sibiya
Address all correspondence to: nokuthulas@dut.ac.za
Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
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