Week 07 - Counterproductive Communication: What Doesn’t Work

SOWK 486 Fall 2019 Planning: Class 07

Location: CBC Campus - SWL 206
Time: Wednesday from 5:30-8:15
Week 07: 09/30/19 — 10/06/19
Reading Assignment: Hepworth et al. (2016) Chapter 7
Topic and Content Area: Counterproductive Communication
Assignments Due: Reading Quiz; Assignment 03: Generalist Intervention Assignment due 10/04/19
Other Important Information: N/A

Big Bang Theory Video Clip

[Whole Class Activity] Watch the video clip.

Sheldon uses some counterproductive communication patterns. While, with the relationship that Sheldon has with Penny, he seems to be effective. Today we are spending time talking about some of the what not to do.

Agenda

• Nonverbal communication
• Verbal communication
• Barriers to communication

Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior

How we manage and deal with verbal and non verbal behavior has a lot to do with how we are able to communicate. 
> [Discussion] Who has seen Lie to Me?

[Activity] Watch Lie to Me Intro video

Lie to Me is not actually exactly accurate, but there is some truth.

• Human interaction and communication involve both verbal and nonverbal behavior.
• Verbal behavior is what is being said.
• Non verbal behavior is communication in ways other than spoken words.
• People communicate by…
  • Facial expressions
  • Hand movements
  • Eye contact
  • Sitting position
  • Proximity
• Any aspect of a person’s presence that conveys ideas or information without being spoken is nonverbal communication.

Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior

Any aspect of a person’s presence that conveys ideas or information without being spoken is nonverbal communication. In communication in general, there are six basic parts of communication:

1. Attentive listening
2. Eye contact
3. Facial expressions
4. Body positioning
5. Paraverbal
6. Verbal

As we think about these verbal and non verbal aspects, we should also be thinking about this threefold task:

(1) to assess your repetitive nonverbal behaviors (2) to eliminate nonverbal styles that hinder effective communication (3) to sustain and perhaps increase desirable nonverbal behaviors

Attentive Listening

The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting. ~ Fran Lebowitz

Attentive listening implies more than just audio reception of the words that are said. It focuses on comprehending the meaning of what is said. This can be called physical attending.

It takes really focusing on the person that you are talking to.

Posture

Recommended

• Arms and hands moderately expressive; appropriate gestures
• Body leaning slightly forward; attentive but relaxed

Not Recommended

• Rigid body position; arms tightly folded
• Body turned at an angle to client
• Fidgeting with hands
• Squirming or rocking in chair
• Leaning back or placing feet on desk
• Hand or fingers over mouth
• Pointing finger for emphasis

Eye contact

We don’t want to have no eye contact and we don’t want to have constant eye contact. We want to have moderate eye contact, which is somewhere in between no eye contact and constant eye contact.

Not extremes…

• No Eye Contact

• Constant Eye Contact

• Moderate Eye Contact

• Purpose

  • Eye contact is important in establishing rapport with clients.

• Variability

  • It is important to remember that eye contact varies among different cultural backgrounds.

• Significance

  • The inability to make eye contact could mean that someone is afraid or insecure, it might also imply disinterest or dishonesty.
  • On the other hand maintaining constant eye contact can be intimidating or make someone uncomfortable.
  • Eye contact is a complex nonverbal behavior.

Facial Expressions

[Activity] What emotion are each of these facial features expressing?

• Like everything in SW, It’s about self evaluation
  • Not only are are we looking at the facial features or affect of the client, but become aware of our own.
  • Are our facial expressions corresponding with our other nonverbal behavior and what we are saying?
• Facial expressions provide an excellent means of communication.
• Facial expressions can be used to reinforce what is said verbally and emphasize the fact that you mean what you say.
• We need to be concerned about if we have incongruence and leakage (e.g. feelings about client leaked out)

Facial Expressions

Facial Expressions

For both facial features and eye contact the following are the recommendations based in the Hepworth et al. (2017) text.

Recommended

• Direct eye contact (except when culturally proscribed)
• Warmth and concern reflected in facial expression
• Eyes at same level as client’s
• Appropriately varied and animated facial expressions
• Mouth relaxed; occasional smiles

Not Recommended

• Avoidance of eye contact
• Staring or fixating on person or object
• Lifting eyebrow critically
• Eye level higher or lower than client’s
• Nodding head excessively
• Yawning
• Frozen or rigid facial expressions
• Inappropriate slight smile
• Pursing or biting lips

Body Positioning

[Activity] Class participant to demonstrate space. (Clinicians should be at the closer end of social)

• Distance
  • The use of personal space or distance between you and the client is a part of body positioning.
• Psychomotor behavior (Body Positioning)
  • Body movement and positioning also provide information to others.
  • Being tense or relaxed. This is noted in your body position.
• Tension vs. Relaxed Positions

When working with clients it is important how you present yourself nonverbally.

[Activity] Have a student act out what it might look like to be tense vs. relaxed.

• Tension
  • Extreme tension could convey lack of confidence or excessive nervousness.
  • It could cause distance between you and the client and they may have a difficult time feeling comfortable or trusting you.
• Relaxed
  • But on the other hand being too relaxed could give the impression that you do not care much about what happens
  • It could damage your professional credibility.

Physical Proximity

Recommended

• Three to five feet between chairs

Not recommended

• Excessive closeness or distance
• Talking across desk or other barrier

Paraverbal Communication

Paraverbal communication is the how we say the things we say, not the words we use.

[Discussion] What is each

[Whole Class Activity] “How can I help you?” Have class members repeate the phrase with varying emphasis.

• Tone
• Volume
• Cadence

Voice

Recommended

• Clearly audible but not loud
• Warmth in tone of voice
• Voice modulated to reflect nuances of feeling and emotional tone of client messages
• Moderate speech tempo

Not Recommended

• Mumbling or speaking inaudibly
• Monotonic voice
• Halting speech
• Frequent grammatical errors
• Prolonged silences
• Excessively animated speech
• Slow, rapid, or staccato speech
• Nervous laughter
• Consistent clearing of throat
• Speaking loudly

Verbal Communication

There can be barriers to verbal communication through the messages we try to send in our verbal communication.

Every time we communicate a message with another person or group of people, there is an intent and an impact. At both of these levels, there can be barriers.

• Message

• Barriers in …

• Intent

• Impact

• In Intent

  • The client may be using words, phrases, or concepts that are not clear to you.
  • The client may be saying something vague, and their intent is not what you interpret.

• In Environment

  • Thinking what your going to say next
  • Phones ringing
  • Home visits
  • Children

• In Impact

  • Concerns regarding crisis
  • Personal problems
  • Biases

Nonverbal Communication

[Small Group Activity] Work in groups of three. One person of the pair will be the interviewer, one the interviewee, and an observer.

• Interviewer: elicit information using skills and considering recommended nonverbal communication described on p.171 about a subject mater that the interviewee is passionate about.
• Observer: give feedback to the interviewer about their use of techniques, and nonverbals. Can be based on rubric on p. 185

Reactance Theory

Brehm (1972) talked about Reactance (well and had been writing about it since the sixties).

• Importance of the freedom
• Magnitude of threat to freedom

Creates Reactance

• Mental Effects: Perceptual or judgmental changes
• Behavioral Effects: Opposition, aggression, etc.

Twelve Communication Roadblocks (1 of 4)

Communication is one area of constant and incremental improvement for everybody. I had an interesting experience when I was living in South America. I had gone down to Lima to get my camera fixed, and on my bus ride I ran into some problems.

Story about trip from Lima to Cusco

• From 21 hours to 36 hours
• Protest about governmental officials in province
• People blocking the road, throwing rocks, and painting vehicles

Generally our clients don’t throw rocks at us, but our communication, rapport, and ability to work with our clients will be improved when we reduce our roadblocks to effective communication.

Twelve Communication Roadblocks (2 of 4)

Gordon, T (2003) Teacher effectiveness training. First Revised Edition. New York: Three Rivers Press

While Hepworth lays out 7 different road blocks, Gordon (2003) describes 12 different ones. They are all incorporated in parts of the the ones described by the book. I wanted to spend some time discussing these.

[Whole Class Activity] Discuss what each roadblock might look like in communication.

1. Ordering, directing, commanding
2. Warning, admonishing, threatening
3. Exhorting, moralizing, preaching
4. Advising and giving solutions or suggestions
5. Lecturing, teaching, giving logical arguments
6. Judging, criticizing, disagreeing, blaming

-> For information sake, the 7 roadblocks described by Hepworth

1. Reassuring, sympathizing, consoling, or excusing
2. Advising and giving suggestions or solutions prematurely
3. Using sarcasm or employing humor that is distracting or makes light of clients’ problems
4. Judging, criticizing, or placing blame
5. Trying to convince the client about the right point of view through logical arguments, lecturing, instructing, or arguing
6. Analyzing, diagnosing, or making glib or dogmatic interpretations
7. Threatening, warning, or counterattacking

Twelve Communication Roadblocks (3 of 4)

7. Praising, agreeing
8. Name calling, ridiculing, shaming
9. Interpreting, analyzing, diagnosing
10. Reassuring, sympathizing, consoling, supporting
11. Probing, questioning, interrogating
12. Withdrawing, distracting, humoring, diverting

[Discussion] Do we ever do any of these?

Twelve Communication Roadblocks (4 of 4)

Twelve Communication Roadblocks

Partners -> Interviewer / Interviewee -> Use the Roadblocks discussion about passions or desired topic.

[Discussion] How did it feel on both ends.

Safe Topics

It can be very easy to be in a comfort zone of “safe” topics. These can include social chit chat which tends to foster a social rather than therapeutic relationship.

• Discussion of “safe” topics may be utilized to help children or adolescents lower their defenses and risk increasing openness, thereby assisting social workers to cultivate a quasi-friend role with such clients.

Brief discussion of safe topics may be appropriate:

• Getting acquainted phase
• Warm-up period of sessions (can be culturally relevant)