NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: TRICKS OF THE TRADE

摘要

Communication is a critical part of the therapeutic success of a veterinarian s efforts, and it is an essential component of the veterinarian's role. It is the veterinarian's responsibility, and it cannot be delegated. Thinking of communication as a procedure will help to understand its importance and place emphasis on the fact that good communication CAN be learned. Like any procedure, mastery requires practice and experience. Too often the ability to talk to people effectively is considered an inherent skill - you either have it or you don't. However, many studies in the field of human medicine have shown that the skills involved in communication are able to be defined and, indeed, learned. This talk will focus on nonverbal communication, one of the four core communication skills (nonverbals, empathy, open-ended questions, and reflective listening). Nonverbals can be broken down into 4 categories: kinesics (body position, gestures, touch, etc), proxemics (spacial relations, barriers), paralanguage (voice tone, speed, etc), and autonomic responses (flushing, eyes dilating, etc).