Three Interpersonal Communication Skills

1.0 Explanation of the three interpersonal communication skills.

1.1 Listening

The interpersonal communication skill of listening is can be defined as the manner of receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and responding to verbal and/or nonverbal messages. (DeVito 2011) The skill of listening is a crucial element in any form of social interaction particularly within the workplace. A five-stage plan has been produced that integrates all the main skills involved within listening. Listening involves many different skills: attention and concentration (1); learning (2); memory (3), critical thinking (4) and lastly, feedback. By implementing these skills in listening you can develop your ability to be a strong listener. (DeVito 2011).

As a GP patient interaction is a huge part of the job so listening attentively to patients poses significant benefits to the patient and to the GP. Listening judiciously to a patient, allows the individual to communicate any symptoms and/or concerns about their health and wellbeing, this allows the general practitioner to comprehend, synthesis and attentively listen to the patient (Kreijkamp-Kaspers and Glasziou 2012). A study conducted by Beckman and Frankel in 1984 found that if a doctor listened to a patient without interruption to their opening statement at the start of a consultation that it led to a substantial reduction to late-arising complications (Beckman and Frankel 1984). In the manual of Mental Health Care, John Davies emphasizes the importance of how listening to a patient will promote open communication and improve the chance of the GP identifying mental illness (Davies, 2003). Listening as a GP provides lots of benefits to the patient and to yourself, it promotes open communication, closer attention to a patient makes it easier to detect any mental illnesses and reduces any late-arising issues as well as many other