Communication Skills for the Communication Specialist

Communication is life. Everything starts and ends with effective communication. It’s how we express our thoughts, ideas, and feelings. It’s how we represent ourselves to the world. Without it, our jobs (and life in general) simply couldn’t be as bright and rewarding as they are. Heck, without it we wouldn’t even have jobs. Communication holds a special place in our hearts because of the incredible work some of us do with patients with communication disorders. If communication is life, it can feel like life is lost without it. We give this life back to the patient who hasn’t had it in days, months, or even years. But communication isn’t just something that we have to focus on for our patients. In order to be effective in our jobs, it’s something we have to focus on for ourselves as well.

Effective Communication Strategies

Whether it be when you try to calm down a patient, connect with a colleague, make a case for a raise with a supervisor, or convince an administrator of a new policy change, SLPs need to be mindful of the strategies that support effective communication. Some of these strategies are to:

Give space: Nobody wants you encroaching on their 6 feet of safety (especially nowadays).

Mirror: Connect by matching the language and mood of the person and the situation.

Validate: Make sure they know you understand their deepest concerns.

Slow down: Especially important if your nervous when speaking to an administrator.

Paraphrase: Re-wording their words gets you both on the same page and tells them you’re listening and you understand.

Earning a Rapport

In order to communicate effectively with people we first have to earn their trust and respect. It’s not rocket science. But it is science. Our bodies are hard wired for communication and we crave it like we crave food and water. All of this is essentially to say that we need to play nice at work. Help out with non-SLP related tasks, take extra time in the break room to socialize, and don’t burn any bridges because you never know when the water will get rough. Connecting successfully with your colleagues is not only good for your professional effectiveness, it’s good for your health too.

Influence Over Management

If you have ever tried to implement or change a policy inside your facility, you know how hard it can be to influence people. Inertia can be incredible or incredibly frustrating depending on if you are trying to move an immovable project or keep a successful one moving along. But even the toughest nuts can be cracked with some basic approaches:

Be concise: People are busy. Get to the point. Make it quick.

Be persistent: Don’t let “no” scare you away (even Seinfeld was almost canceled early on).

Know your audience: Their interests. Their goals. What makes them tick?

With the right influence with the right people, we can create a tremendous amount of good for our patients and for our facilities. We can decrease costs (FEES vs MBSS), tighten up compliance (clear and organized recommendations), level up on quality of care (introduce biofeedback), optimize customer service (education and support), and improve marketing with specific services to increase admissions (e-stim). The administration is lucky to have you. In some cases, they just don’t know it yet.

Communication Works

Advancing our communication skills could possibly be the easiest way to create success for ourselves, our patients, and our places of work. Maybe you’re familiar with most of the tips in this article, but how often do you actually explore them and let them work for you? Try it for a day and let me know what kind of difference it makes. I’d love to hear from you.

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