COMMUNICATION SKILLS, SOFT SKILLS, BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION

1. Communication
Skills, BCC &
Soft Skills
Presented by:
NishaYadav
M.Sc. Nursing 1st year
NINE, PGIMER
Chandigarh
Presented to:
Dr. Damanjit Kaur
Lecturer
NINE, PGIMER
Chandigarh

2. Outline
▪ Communication- goals, types, process
▪ Communication skills- tips to good communication,
importance.
▪ Barriers of communication
▪ Behaviour Change Communication (BCC)- stages of
behaviour change, steps of BCC
▪ Role of BCC in HIV/AIDS
▪ Soft Skills and its attributes

3. Learning objectives
At the end of the class students will be able to-
▪ Define communication, enlist communication goals,
describe types of communication
▪ Define communication skill, describe importance of
communication skill, effective communication and
communication process
▪ Describe barriers of communication
▪ Define Behaviour Change Communication (BCC)
▪ Describe stages of behaviour change, steps of BCC with
example
▪ Define soft skills and describe its attributes.

4. Communication
 Communication (from Latin communicare,
meaning "to share”) is the act of
conveying meanings from one entity or group to
another through the use of mutually
understood signs, symbols.
 The imparting or exchanging of information by
speaking, writing, or using some other medium.

5. Communication is a dynamic process
 The communication process allows you to convey
a thought or feeling to someone else
 How it is received depends on a set of events,
stimuli that the person is exposed to
• How to say what you say plays an important role in
communication

6. Communication goals
Change of
behaviour
To get action
To ensure
understanding
To persuade
To get and give
information

7. Communication is a series of
experience of...
I. Seeing
II. Hearing
III.Tasting
IV.Touching
V.Smelling

8. Types of Communication
On the basis of organization relationship:-
Formal
Informal
On the basis of flow :-
Vertical
Horizontal
On the basis of expression :-
Oral
Written
Gesture

9. One way communication
(didactic method)
▪ The flow of communication is "one-way" from the
communicator to the audience.The familiar example is the
lecture method in class rooms.
▪ The drawbacks of the didactic method are:
▪ knowledge is imposed
▪ learning is authoritative
▪ little audience participation
▪ no feedback - does not influence human behaviour

10. Two-way communication (Socratic
method)
▪ The Socratic method is a two-way method of
communication in which both the communicator and
the audience take part.
▪ The audience may raise questions, and add their own
information, ideas and opinions to the subject.
▪ The process of learning is active and "democratic". It is
more likely to influence behaviour than one-way
communication

11. Verbal Communication
 The traditional way of communication has been by word of
mouth.The advent of written and printed matter are of
comparatively recent origin.
 Direct verbal communication by word of mouth may be
loaded with hidden meanings. It is persuasive. Non-direct or
written communication may not be as persuasive as the
spoken word.

12. Non-Verbal Communication
▪ Communication can occur even without words. It
includes a whole range of bodily movements, postures,
gestures, facial expressions
▪ E.g., smile, raised eye brows, frown, staring, gazing etc.
▪ Silence is non-verbal communication. It can speak
louder than words.

13. Formal & Informal
Communication
▪ Communication has been classified into formal (follows lines
of authority) and informal (grape-vine) communication.
▪ Informal network (e.g., gossip circles) exists in all
organizations.
▪ The informal channels may be more active, if the formal
channels do not cater to the information needs

14. Telecommunication
▪ Telecommunication is the process of communicating over
distance using electromagnetic instruments designed for the
purpose.
▪ Radio,TV and internet etc. are mass communication media,
while telephone is known as point-to-point telecommunication
systems.
▪ The point-to-point systems are closer to interpersonal
communication.With the launching of satellites, a big explosion
of electronic communication has taken place all over the world.

15. Communication skills
Communication skills are the ability
to use language (receptive) and
express (expressive) information.
Effective communication skills are a
critical element in your career and
personal lives.

16. Most Common Ways to
Communicate
I. Speaking
I. Writing
I. Visual aids
I. Body language

17. Why communication skills?
Communication skills are the basis of effective
transactions in a training programme.
Communication skills can be deployed while
 Making presentations, both verbal and visual
 Dealing with interpersonal relationships
 Establishing linkages
 Motivating trainees

18. Tips to good
communication skills
 Maintain eye contact with the audience
 Body awareness
 Gestures and expressions
 Convey one's thoughts
 Practice effective communication skills.

19. Effective communication
It is two way.
It involves active listening.
It reflects the accountability of speaker and
listener.
It utilizes feedback. It is free of stress.
It is clear.

20. Communication process
▪ Communication is the process of sending
and receiving information among people.

21. Communication involves
three components
 Verbal messages :- the words we choose
 Para-verbal messages :- how we say the
words
 Non-verbal messages :- our body language
These three components areused to:-
 Send clear, concise messages
 Receive and correctly understand messages
sent to us.

22. Sending message
Effective verbal message:-
 Are brief, succinct, and organized
 Are free of jargon
 Do not create resistance in the
listener

23. Non-verbal message
Nonverbal messages are the primary
way that we communicate emotions

24. Para-verbal message
Para-verbal communication refers to
the messages that we transmit
through the tone, pitch, and pacing of
our voices.

25. Receiving message
Listening:-
 Requires concentration and energy.
 Involves a psychological connection with the
speaker.
 Includes a desire and willingness to try and see
things from another's perspective
 Requires that we suspend judgment and
evaluation.

26. Key learning skills
 Nonverbal:-
 Giving full physical attention to the speaker;
 Being aware of the speaker's nonverbal
messages
 Verbal:-
 Paying attention to the words and feelings
that are being expressed.

27. What makes a good
communicator?
Clarity Timing
Integrity Adequacy
Qualities

28. How to develop communication skills?

29. Why we study
communication skills?
1. History taking: 60% to 80% of diagnosis.
2. Good communication provides information tothe
patient:
▪ more than 50% of patients deviate from the doctors
advice or do not follow it at all.
3. Poor quality of communication leads to patient’s
dissatisfaction:
▪ Patients do not understand what the nurse is saying.
▪ Advice is too difficult to follow.

30. COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES
• Listening (not HEARING)
• Probing (encourage)
• Observing (non- verbal)
• Informing (4 Cs = Clear, Correct, Concise,
Complete)

31. LISTENING
• It involves a conscious effort to listen to words; to the
way they are said, to be aware of the feelings shown
and attempts to hide feelings.
• You should:
 Focus your attention; avoid barriers.
 Show that you are listening (verbally and
nonverbally).
 Understand ideas and pick key words.
 Retain information (memory, notes).
 Reflect or give your feedback.

33. PROBING
What clients think/know.
 encourage them to talk: tell them that are really
listening and wanting to hear more.
 ask questions.
 keep Privacy, listen.

34. OBSERVING
Nonverbal communication through
 Facial expressions
 Voice tone
 Body language

35. INFORMING
 In a Clear, Correct, Concise, Complete
way.
 Consider: Needs, Language, Obstacles.
 Summing-up briefly.
 Check backwith the speaker to ensure
that the statement is accurate.

36. Qualities of a Good
Communicator
1. He/she knows
 Objectives (clear, specific)
 Her/his audience
 Her/his message
 The channels
 How to organize and treat her/his message

37. Cont…
 Her/his own professional abilities and limitations
 The communication channels, their proper use and
limitations
2. She/he is interested in his/her audience and their welfare
 Her/his message and how it can help the people
 The results of communication and their evaluation
 The communication processes
 The communication channels, their proper use and
limitations

38. 3. She/he prepares
 Plan for communication
 Communication material and equipment
 A plan for evaluation of results
 She/he has skill in selecting message, treating
message, expressing message, selection and
use of channels understanding her/his
audience and collecting the results

39. Skills that assist in keeping the
focus on the patient
▪ Looking and listening for cues.
▪ Asking open questions.
▪ Asking open directive questions.
▪ Exploring cues.

40. Cont…
▪ Using pauses and silence.
▪ Using minimal prompts.
▪ Screening. For example: asking the question- ‘Is
there something else?’ before continuing with
the discussion.

41. Barriersto
Communication
1. Semantic Barriers
2. EmotionalOr Psychological Barriers
3. Organizational Barriers
4. Barriers in Superiors

43. Semantic Barriers
 Symbols with different meaning
 Badly expressed message
 Faulty translation
 Un-clarified assumption
 Specialist’s language

44. Emotional Or
Psychological Barriers
 Premature evolution
 Inattention
 Loss of transmission & poor retention
 Undue reliance on the written word
 Distrust of communication
 Failure to communicate

45. Organization Barriers
 Organizational policy
 Organization rules & regulation
 Status relation
 Complexity in organization

46. Personal Barriers
Barriers in superior:-
Attitude of superior
Fear of challenge
Lack of time
Lack of awareness

47. Personal Barrierscont...
Barriers in subordinates:-
Unwillingness to communicate
Lack of proper initiative

48. BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
COMMUNICATION (BCC)
Human Behaviour
▪ It is not easy to change the behaviour of people.
Behaviour is responsible for many health problems
and at the same time solution to the health
problem.
▪ It is not possible to change behaviour at once, or in
one time conveying the messages, message has to
be enforced many times such as importance of
physical activities to prevent NCD to be made
people adopt this behaviour.

49. Human Health Behaviour
▪ Any activity undertaken for the purpose of
preventing or detecting disease or for
improving health and well- being.
▪ In simple words, it is related to health
maintenance, restoration and improvement

50. Behaviour Change
Communication
 It can be defined as ‘a process that motivates people to
adopt and sustain healthy behaviours and lifestyles’.
 It is a strategy that triggers people/society/communities to
adopt healthy, beneficial and positive behavioural
practices.
 BCC is an effective communication approach which helps
to promote changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms,
beliefs and behaviours.

51. Stages of behavior change
▪ Prochaska has found that people who
have successfully made positive change
in their lives go through five specific
stages-
▪ Precontemplation
▪ Contemplation
▪ Preparation
▪ Action
▪ Maintenance

52. Criteria For Developing BCC
Messages
BCC messages must be:
 Research centered
 Client centered
 Benefit Learning
 Service Interrelated
 Professionally developed, and
interrelated to behavior change

53. Importance of BCC
 Increase in knowledge and attitude of the people
 BCC helps to trigger and stimulate people for
adopting positive behavioral approaches
 BCC promotes appropriate and essential attitude
change
▪ It improve aptitudes and feeling of self-adequacy

54. Cont…
 As BCC strategies and messages are
tailored for specific target groups, these
strategies are efficient and effective.
 BCC approaches are more sustainable and
acceptable
 BCC helps to increase learning and skills

55. Principles in Planning BCC
Activity
1) BCC should be integrated with programme goals
from the start.
2) Formative BCC assessments must be conducted to
improve understanding of the needs of target
populations.
3)The target population should participate in all
phases of BCC development and in much of
implementation.

56. Principles cont.….
4) Stakeholders need to be involved from the design
stage.
5) Having a variety of linked communication channels is
more effective than relying on one specific one.
6) Pre-testing is essential for developing effective BCC
materials.

57. Principles cont.….
7) Planning for monitoring and evaluation
should be part of the design of any BCC
programme.
8) BCC strategies should be positive and
action-oriented.

58. Steps in developing BCC
strategy

59. Steps for BCC
programme
Developing BCC messages include:
1. Analysis
 Comprehend the idea of the issues and
hindrances to change.
 Tune in to a potential group of spectators, survey
existing project approaches, assets, qualities,
and shortcomings and investigate
correspondence assets.

60. 2. Strategic Design
 Settle on destinations, recognize crowd
portions, position the idea for the group of
spectators
 Explain the conduct change model to be
utilized, select channels of correspondence,
plan for relational discourse, draw up an
activity plan, and structure for assessment

61. 3. Development, Pretesting, Revision, and
Production
 Create message ideas, pretest with a
group of spectator’s individuals and
guards.
 Amend and produce messages/materials
and pretest new and existing materials.

62. 4.The executives, implementation, and monitoring
 Implement the BCC and carry out continuous
monitoring to see the positive and negative
effects.
 Conduct critical analysis of the approach.
 Make sure that the messages coherent with the
objective of the BCC

63. 5. Making arrangements for continuity
 Acclimate to changing conditions and plan
for progression and independence.

65. Role of BCC in HIV/AIDS
• Increase knowledge : BCC can ensure that people
are given the basic facts about HIV and AIDS in a
language or medium that they can understand and
relate to .
• Stimulate community dialogue : BCC can encourage
community and national discussions on the basic facts
of HIV/AIDS & the underlying factors that contribute
to the epidemic, such as risk behaviors and risk
settings, environments and cultural practices related
to sex and sexuality .

66. Cont…
▪ Promote essential attitude change : BCC can lead to
appropriate attitudinal changes about, for e.g.,
perceived personal risk of HIV infection, belief in the
right to and responsibility for safe practices and
health supporting services etc.
▪ Advocate for policy changes : BCC can lead
policymakers and opinion leaders toward effective
approaches to the epidemic.
▪ Improve skills and sense of self-efficacy: It can focus
on teaching or reinforcing new skills and behaviors,
such as condom use, negotiating safer sex and safe
injecting practices.

67. Cont..
• Create a demand for information and services: BCC
can spur individuals and communities to demand
information on HIV/AIDS and appropriate services.
• Reduce stigma and discrimination: Communication
about HIV prevention and AIDS mitigation should
address stigma and discrimination and attempt to
influence social responses to them .

68. Cont..
▪ Promote services for prevention and care : BCC can
promote services for STIs, intravenous drug users
(IDUs), orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs);
voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for mother-
to-child transmission (MTCT); support groups for
PLHA; clinical care for opportunistic infections; and
social and economic support.

69. BCC GOALS FOR
HIV/AIDS
Program goal: Reduce HIV prevalence
among young people in urban settings in
country.
Behavior change goals:
 Increase condom use
 Increase appropriate STI care-seeking
behavior
 Delay sexual debut
 Reduce number of partners

70. BCC Goals
 Increase perception of risk or change attitudes
toward use of condoms
 Increase demand for services
 Create demand for information on HIV and AIDS
 Create demand for appropriate STI services

71. Cont..
 Interest policymakers in investing in youth friendly
VCT services (services must be in place)
 Promote acceptance among communities of youth
sexuality and the value of reproductive health
services for youth (services must be in place)

73. SOFT SKILLS
▪ Soft skills are a cluster of productive
personality traits that characterise one’s
relationship in a social milieu with other
people.
▪ These skills can include social graces,
communication abilities, language skills,
personal habits, cognitive or emotional
empathy, time management, teamwork
and leadership traits.

74. Soft Skills Attributes
▪ Communication- oral, speaking capability, written, presenting,
listening.
▪ Courtesy- manners, etiquette, gracious, says please and thank
you, be respectful.
▪ Flexibility- adaptability, willing to change, lifelong learner,
accepts new things, adjusts, teachable.
▪ Integrity- honesty, ethical, high morals, has personal values.
▪ Interpersonal skills- nice, polite, sense of humor, friendly,
nurturing, empathetic, has self-control, patient, sociability,
warmth, social skills.

75. Soft skills attributes cont…
▪ Positive attitude- optimistic, enthusiastic, encouraging, happy,
confident
▪ Professionalism- businesslike, well-dressed, appearance,
poised.
▪ Responsibility- accountable, reliable, gets the job done,
resourceful, self-discipline, common sense
▪ Teamwork- cooperative, gets along with others, agreeable,
supportive, helpful
▪ Work ethic- hardworking, willing to work, loyal, initiative, self-
motivated, on-time.

76. CONCLUSION
▪ Communication is the act of conveying meanings from
one entity or group to another through the use of mutually
understood signs, symbols.
▪ Communication skills are the ability to use language
(receptive) and express (expressive) information.
▪ Behaviour change communication (BCC) is an interactive
process to develop positive behaviours; promote and sustain
individual, community and societal behaviour change; and
maintain appropriate behaviours.
▪ Soft skills are a cluster of productive personality traits that
characterise one’s relationships in a social milieu with other
people.

77. SUMMARY
▪ Communication- goals, types
▪ Communication skills
▪ Communication process
▪ Barriers to communication
▪ Behavior change communication- stages,
strategies, principles and steps.
▪ Soft skills and its attributes

78. Question time
1. What is Communication Skill?
2. What is Behavior Change Communication?

79. Assignment
1. List down the types and techniques of
communication.
2. List down the importance of having good
communication skills.

80. TAKE HOME MESSAGE
Tobe a good nurse, we have
to be a
GOOD COMUNICATOR

81. REFERENCES
▪ Sunderlal , Adarsh , Pankaj ,Text book of community
medicine, 4 th edition , chp 2, P 3-48
▪ J . Kishore , national health programs of India, 11th edition
, p 157,220,230
▪ WHOTRS 690(1983).New Approaches to health Education
in Primary Health care.
▪ http://www.hivpolicy.org/Library/HPP000533.pdf
▪ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_change_communica
tion
▪ WHO, AFMCText book of Public Health and Community
Medicine , p 622