From my personal experience, I feel listening is very crucial in all cases. If one can listen and understand the situation fully, better logical decisions will be made.

 

Question:

-       How can we defuse a situation when a parent is in denial that their child has behavioural/ learning needs during parent-teacher meeting? 

Reply: This will be replied in Lecture 2. Thank you.

·       Not Editing Your Work 

– sometimes during heavy workload or tiring days, we might copy and paste some parts of one report to another, and we do not check our work. This could lead to embarrassing situations where the report states someone else’s name or condition, etc. and if read by another, we are not seen as carrying out our work professionally. 

·       Delivering bad news via email 

– the sender can be perceived as being inconsiderate, unempathetic, and may result in the receiver misinterpreting the tone of our intentions
- this bad news could be forwarded or published in social media if delivered to wrong party (mistyped email address). It is more advisable to give a phone call and check that you are speaking to the intended party as bad news is urgent and should be delivered asap to the RIGHT person and your concern can be expressed through your voice because emails are "tone-deaf"

·       Using ‘One-Size-Fits-All” Approach to Communication 

– we should not make the assumption that the stakeholders listen to or understand us in the same manner as they come from different backgrounds or have different experiences

~Ng Sui San TG1~

Reply: This will be replied in Lecture 2. Thank you.

Question: When conversation becomes difficult and not getting anywhere, is it a good option to terminate meeting politely and request for another time to discuss, even if we are calm but the other party is not after a period of calm?  

Reply: This will be answered in Lecture 2. Thank you.

From the lecture, I feel that self-aware is vital to be a good communicator to connect and build relationship on a deeper level, especially with SEN students. Being empathetic to their needs allows us to cater better to individuals and understand that one size does not fit all. 

After this lecture, I realize that I need to practice on how to reflect in order to bring out the underlying feelings when I paraphrase. Sometimes, I also tent to respond or react too fast when communicating. I should sort out my thought before speaking. 

As an AED LBS, we have to build a sense of trust and support to different stakeholders. Communication is definitely the key to carry out our work effectively and efficiently. I have to put in more effort to improve my communication skills. 

The video illustrating communication using moulding clay ball was an excellent visualization of how good communication and miscommunication happen. We often communicate with a personal perspective based on our personal experience. Hence, miscommunication occurs when we lack the perception of others. Thus, it is crucial to listen and understand before conveying our messages. 

Communication is crucial in the LBS profession as sensitive issues are exchanged with stakeholders. Good communication skill is very vital as miscommunication can create difficult situations. 

Query: What are the best ways to redirect conversation between stakeholders, especially with parents, without breaking rapport. During my school stint, often meeting overrun most of the time, conversation drift with lost objectives. It can be challenging to redirect conversations without breaking rapport with stakeholders (especially parents). It will be helpful to elaborate more on the “focus” aspect of microskill communication.  

Reply: I will reply to this in Lecture 2. Thank you.

 

Question : For active listening, how long does the period of silence last for when waiting for the other party to speak again? Thank you.

Reply: I will reply to this question in Lecture 2. Thank you.

The 8 common communication mistakes shared are good reminders for us to reflect on our experiences and plan for better approach in the future. Being an AED LBS requires to communicate with many different personnels and it is important to maintain the rapport for the benefit of the child.

Through this course, I hope to be able to use the microskills interchangeably, both when listening and communicating. There are certain skills like paraphrasing (summarising) and reflecting that I would need to hone myself in. Just like how the lady (coachee) in the fourth video shared, when the coach really listened to her and attended to her feelings, she felt more open and wanted to talk more. Being an effective communicator is definitely an important skill for an AED (LBS) and different stakeholders will require different approaches. Thus, I hope to be able to practice and apply the skills being taught and of course, to not confine these skills to the class/course/work, but also apply it in my personal life (i.e., with friends, family etc.)

Here are some questions that I have:

#1 When meeting with an agitated parent/colleague, is it wise to tell the person to ‘Calm Down’ and to point out that they are not in the right emotive state to discuss a certain issue, if not, how do we approach this situation? Considering also that we have a limited time with them, especially if it is a parent.

#2 Under professional meeting circumstances (e.g., meeting a parent), in order for us to summarize/paraphrase what we have heard, are we able to take notes? Or will it seem like we are not fully attentive and attending to the person we are speaking? 

Thank you!

Reply: I will reply to this in Lecture 2. Thank you.

It therefore requires both speaking and listening, but also—and perhaps more crucially—developing a shared understanding of the information being transmitted and received.

It is, therefore an active process. There is nothing passive about communication, in either direction.

One takeaways for me would be to avoid delivering bad news via emails. Didn’t realise this is a no-no. After all I have received many emails that begin with “We are sorry to inform you that …”. After listening to the lecture, I agree that if the bad news is going to be difficult for the receiver, we can soften the impact by using our body language (non-verbal cues) and our tone. We can also deal with the intense emotion, if any, of the receiver if we deliver the bad news in person.  Importantly, we can clarify our message on the spot and make sure it is understood correctly. 

 

8 Communication Mistakes:
It may seems like common sense, when being placed in the situation especially when our emotions are not kept in-check, these are common pitfalls.  

 

I personally feel that many a time, we are afraid to clarify. It is an important skill to know when is a good time within the conversation to pause and clarify any queries.