Communication is a clinical skill (Part 1)

The communication skills that follow are essential for the development of a collaborative veterinarian-client partnership, staff member-client partnership, staff member-staff member relationship. These skills constitute the core of clinical communication skills that can lead to more common ground, enhanced relationships and coordination of care, reduced conflicts and complaints. Let’s begin by looking at non-verbal communication. 

Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication includes all behavioral signals between interacting individuals exclusive of verbal content. While estimates vary, it is suggested that 80% of our communication is non-verbal and that our feelings and emotions are communicated to another person through the non-verbal pathways while what we say has to do with what we are thinking. In most instances the communication of our feelings and emotions is involuntary and at times out of our control.

There are four categories of non-verbal communication (Figure 1):

• Kinesics
• Proxemics
• Paralanguage
• Autonomic changes
   

Figure 1. There are four kinds of non-verbal communication. Do you know which one you use the most? © Manuel Fontègne 

Kinesics

Kinesics refers to behaviors such as facial expressions, general level of tension in the body, gestures, body posture and movement. These are typically non-verbal behaviors over which we have some degree of voluntary control (Figure 2). [...]