Types of Communication

There are various types of communication with presentation styles, platforms, formats, and that can be used for communication, especially given we are living in a world that relies heavily on technology.

The following table illustrates the various types of communication and how they can be applied in the workplace. Take the time to familarise yourself with each type before we look at them in further detail.

There is a lot to consider with face-to-face interaction because you are both seen and heard. The way you present yourself physically with your body and verbally with your language and tone will be both very important factors.

There are times that you will have high stress situations where you will have to think on your feet and act fast, so it is important to remain calm at all times. In the animal care industry, it is not uncommon to have difficult scenarios present at the most unexpected times. You must always be prepared where you can, for example, you may have someone who has called the practice/clinic to let you know of a dog that was just hit by a car. Upon hearing this, you should ideally start to prepare a certain recovery area in the clinic beforehand to eliminate any delays and possible stress factors of being ill prepared. You may also need to triage the animals that you already have in the clinic, in this case, you will not be aware of the degree of injury the dog has sustained, therefore you may need to escalate the treatment of this dog above some of the others who may be in for a simple vaccination.

Naturally, there are times you may find stressful, one way of managing stressful situations is setting a goal or planning. This will help alleviate some of that burden or maybe even all of it.

Speaking Skills

The following are some tips that you should consider when engaging in face-to-face communication with colleagues, clients/ patients.

Eye contact

Not looking someone in the eye can be interpreted as being evasive and insecure. Be sure to make eye contact but try not to stare, remember to blink, and move your head every so often to break the contact momentarily.

Use correct industry terminology

The use of slang words, nicknames or acronyms can be confusing to people outside the workplace or industry and can make you appear unprofessional. Always ensure the listener has understood any important directions or advice.

Suitable language

 It is important to use language suitable for the listener’s age and experience, and remember, be flexible to your audience. The way you explain something to a ten-year-old child will differ from how you speak to an adult.

Correct grammar

Careless use of grammar can create a poor impression of both you and your business. Always make the effort to be accurate in grammar. For example, use “John and I” not “Me and John”.

Clear sequence of thoughts and ideas

People will always have difficulty understanding your spoken message if your thoughts are confused and your words are jumbled. The following examples differentiate between appropriate (Example A) and in-appropriate (Example B) sequence.

Example A

"Please ring to arrange an appointment with the vet, Friday mornings are usually the best time. Thursdays and Saturdays can be quite busy."

Example B

“Maybe if you… ah… come back when the vet is in… or… no, usually Thursday is a bad day… and Saturday is always busy… Friday morning is okay… and ring first to find out if he’s here.”

Active listening

When you are engaging in face-to-face communication with others, you need to show respect for your audience by listening attentively. It is particularly important during the early stages of your career when you are still learning and when you are dealing with clients. Your senior team members, such as those in management are there to teach you fundamental aspects about the animal care industry. They are often highly trained and very experienced therefore are an invaluable resource for you to turn to.

Effective listening can be the difference between following instructions correctly, building strong relationships with your colleagues, taking messages correctly and establishing your relationships with clients. Where interactions with clients are concerned, you must also be aware that at times, clients may become quite distressed with concern over their pets and may be difficult to understand. This is where your active listening skills come into place.

To demonstrate you are actively listening consider the following points.

• Acknowledge you are listening with a simple nod of your head affirming you have heard what has been said.
• Make regular eye contact, but avoid staring.
• Refrain from interrupting when others are talking to you, wait for a moment where you may be able to interject.
• Display empathy, this is particularly important when dealing with distressed clients.
• Allow the speaker to explain their concerns and ask their questions.
• Reflect on what has been said and then provide an answer.
• Paraphrase if you require further clarification.

The following video emphasises the importance of active listening.

In addition to communication types, there are four communication styles. Communication styles refer to the tone, language and way people communicate. It is important, especially when you are working with people and their pets, that you are aware of the tone and language you use when you are communicating. In these settings, you will find, they are often driven by heightened emotions and the way you handle the situation can make all the difference.

Let us take the time to go through each of the communication styles in further detail.

Passive communication style

People who demonstrate a passive communication style often avoid expressing their feelings and/or opinions even though it fails to promote their needs and rights.

Characteristics demonstrated by people using the passive communication style include:

• allowing others to interrupt them when they try to speak
• allowing others to make decisions for them
• apologising even when they have done nothing wrong.

Aggressive communication style

People who demonstrate an aggressive communication style often express their feelings and/or opinions to promote their own needs even though it violates the rights of others.

Characteristics demonstrated by people using the aggressive communication style include:

• being very direct and excessively honest
• interrupting others when they try to speak
• speaking in a loud and demanding voice.

Passive-aggressive communication style

People who demonstrate a passive-aggressive communication style don’t express their feelings and/or opinions outright but do so in subtle and indirect ways, resulting in a failure to promote their own needs and the violation of the rights of others.

Characteristics demonstrated by people using the passive-aggressive communication style include:

• refusing to acknowledge their own anger
• stating their true feelings rudely towards the end of interactions
• using sarcasm to mask their true intentions.

Assertive communication style

People who demonstrate an assertive communication style directly express their feelings and/or opinions in a way that is considerate of those they are communicating with. They promote their own needs while still respecting the rights of others.

Characteristics demonstrated by people using the assertive communication style include:

• expressing disagreement respectfully
• stating their true needs and wants clearly and respectfully
• speaking with confidence.

Questions

Naturally, when starting out in any line of work for the first time, you will have an abundance of questions. Questions are a fantastic way to seek information from others, especially those who are more experienced. But the types of question you ask also play a role in what type of information you receive back; you must always consider the type of question you are asking before you ask it. The two main types of questions are closed and open-ended questions. Closed ended questions require a single response with very minimal detail, while an open-ended question enables elaboration and specific details.

The following table illustrates some of the question types and an example of how they are used and a response.

Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal can be defined as the non-linguistic transmission of information through aesthetic/artistic expression, physical/body language, signs, and symbols.

Consider your body language / non-verbal communication - Sit or stand upright. Slouching makes you look sloppy and uninterested. Also, ensure you smile. Gesture or use props appropriately to highlight your message.

Let’s take a short break from the reading and watch following video. This video illustrates the key differences between verbal and non-verbal communication.

As you will come to find, you will need to communicate on a telephone. Many consultations may take place over the phone with clients who have concerns about their pets. When communicating on the telephone, body language cannot be utilised. The caller cannot see your facial expressions, posture, appearance and of course, eye contact is not possible. Therefore, when you are communicating on the telephone you will need to ensure you are clear, concise, sequential, and professional when you speak.

Professional telephone communication is easy to achieve if you keep in mind the following.

Prepare for the call

You must always be prepared when you are about to answer the phone. Avoid running to the phone and answering when you are puffed, take a moment to breathe. Ensure you have a notepad and a pen handy for taking messages.

Smile as you answer

Believe it or not, the caller can hear it in your voice. It is important to consider, you will never know what kind of phone call you will be getting. Callers can range from simple enquiries to emergencies, so when you answer the phone, you must always be prepared for any type of call. Smiling when you answer will help the caller.

Professionalism and tone of voice

When you answer the phone, you must always display a level of professionalism. Say good morning/afternoon, accordingly, identify the name of the business and also introduce yourself before asking how you can be of assistance. For example:

“Good morning, Noah’s Ark Veterinary clinic, this is Debbie how can I help you?”

Remember to speak clearly, do not mumble, whisper, or shout when you answer the phone. Pace yourself, there is no need to rush. Finally, think about your tone of voice, do you sound bored or angry? The caller will be able to tell by your tone of voice whether or not you are willing to help. Consider a time where you may have placed a phone call and the person on the other line sounded frustrated. This is not the impression you want the caller to receive.

Listen and give the caller your full attention - Ensure you listen carefully to the caller. If you can't understand them, ask them to repeat themselves. Confirm the spelling of their name, important details of the message as well as their contact phone number prior to hanging up. Do not be tempted to multi-task. People waiting can see that you are on the phone and should be patient. If you attempt to do other unrelated tasks you risk not hearing important information.

Be organised

When you receive a phone call it is important to be organised, one way to ensure organisation is to keep a notepad and pen nearby. Sometimes information can be technical or lengthy, so it is always useful to have these supplies nearby to take note of the conversation. Some calls require you to access a range of programs for information on patient/s and some may require you to speak with a person of a senior role. Getting the information right the first time is very important as this forms part of a professional image and also ensures accuracy in the chain of communication.

No matter how long you have been working in a job or completing a task, it is never wrong to ask for feedback. Continuous improvement is always welcome at most workplaces, and it is important to keep track on how you are moving in terms of your communication so that you are not becoming too complacent in behaviours which may be impacting your overall job.

Seeking feedback about communication can be both formal and informal. It might be as simple as asking “am I making sense” or handing out evaluation forms.

Consider the following scenario.

Scenario

Sally has been working at ABC Vet for 25 years and when training staff in the past, she has provided them with written instructions however, the new student who just started has a learning disability and has difficulty with reading. The new student is a little shy and does not talk often. One day, when cleaning an animal’s cage, she uses the wrong bottle to spray inside the cage and instead of applying disinfectant, uses a similar spray bottle which just contains water. Sally notices this and then corrects the student. Another co-worker notices Sally giving the student feedback and asks if the student has been shown the steps. Sally reflects on the training manual she gave to the student.

What feedback can be given to Sally?

For the approach, Sally might have had better luck in training this student if she gave the student a physical task analysis where she showed the student exactly what to do and what equipment/resources to utilise. A strategy which may be suitable for one individual, may not be as effective for the next person, and this is a great example. It is important to be reflective of your practice, no matter how much experience or time you have had at a workplace.

When seeking feedback on work tasks you should reach out to supervisors, managers, co-workers, or mentors. Other people outside the organisation could be professional networks who specialise in your work.

On occasions when seeking feedback, you should consider the following.

Asking specific questions about the communication

This can be in the way the communication was performed or demonstrated in both verbal and non-verbal form, from a third party view you can ask for comments on how they feel the receiver took in the information that was relayed. It is also good to ask questions about complexities or hurdles, and how they were overcome throughout the experience. Certain instances could have made the communication harder to relay especially if the information were difficult or technical. There also may be situations which may pop up beyond your control such as external factors or distractions; this can sometimes be minimised if you have thought ahead, but sometimes it is not possible and that is ok too.

The right timing

In most circumstances, it would be best to get feedback at the time the communication has happened. For example:

A customer has come into your veterinary practice, and you are stocking shelves at the front, so they approach you as their first port of call. The customer has a complaint about the way the VET nurse has cut her dog's nails- she mentions she does not want to lodge a formal complaint, just provide feedback. You empathise with the client and reassure her that her pet is safe and uninjured. You advise her that you were restraining at the time of the nail cut and there were appropriate measures applied once the one nail was cut a little too short. After the client leaves, you speak to the VET who informs you that you have provided a great response although, it would have been a good idea to discuss this with him and the VET nurse together, so they could offer an apology on their side, especially if there was a lack of communication of this happening in the first place.

It is not always possible to collect feedback at the time of the situation, especially where there may be outbursts of emotion. At these times, use your own personal judgement or seek assistance from a person who is more senior than yourself.

Being an active listener

There are both verbal and nonverbal examples of demonstrating active listening. Some examples include nodding your head, looking the speaker directly in the eyes, repeating their statements and confirming you understand, acknowledging what they have said with a statement which can be repeated (some people use an informal approach such as “yep” or a sound to confirm they heard), summarising the information you have heard or asking the speaker questions based on what they have told you.

With technology constantly evolving, email has become one of the fundamental ways people communicate with one another, whether for personal or business purposes.

When looking at business emails, it is important to consider some basic rules of etiquette. Poorly written email communication can be interpreted incorrectly, and this may project a bad impression of the business and yourself as the author.

In this day and age, it is not uncommon for emails to have a slight informality in the tone, the casual tone also depicts a friendly tone. When sending emails in any business, it is still very important to be professional and use full words rather than abbreviations to shortcut typing the whole word.

Emails are much easier to distribute to a collection of people (both internally and externally) so it is always important to be mindful of the content which is placed in your emails and if needed, you should mention the confidentiality requirements to remind your receiver where required.

When starting an email, while you do not need to include a lengthy introduction it would be nice to have an opening statement/sentence which gives some sense of warmth. While not essential, it does give the sender an opportunity to commence an email of any topic with a positive approach. It would not be suggested to include too much length to this introduction as the main focus should be on the actual discussion points. Also, we need to consider that some people do not want to have to read through a lot of non-relevant information in an email and have a lot of work to get to themselves. Consider the following example.

The following are some additional points to consider when constructing a professional email.

• Always include a clear, direct subject line.
• Only use the 'reply all' function if absolutely necessary, often people are cc'd (carbon copied) into a group email but do not need to get each reply.
• Set up a professional email signature which incorporates your name, job title, contact information and the business logo.
• Use professional salutations, it is acceptable to use 'Hi' in emails as they are considered to be less formal than letters/reports, however, 'Dear' is also appropriate, especially if you are writing to an unfamiliar person and end your email communication with 'Regards' or even 'Kind Regards'.
• Use appropriate punctuation and correct spelling, use the automatic grammar, and spellcheck features of your email program.
• Be cautious with humour. Not everyone will appreciate your jokes or sarcasm, and often the tone that is associated with these jokes may not be properly conveyed.
• Do not type whole words in capital letters because it is the equivalent to shouting and indicates an aggressive tone.
• Proofread prior to sending. Is your message coherent? Are there any errors?  Have you attached any relevant documents?

In addition to verbal and nonverbal communication, there are various types of formats of written communication.

When looking at written communication particularly in animal care, some of the main types include:

• reports
• telephone messages
• memo
• email
• user manuals/manufacturers guide
• letters
• text messages
• policies and procedures.

When documenting written communication, the writer must ensure the information is clear and coherent. It is very easy to miscommunicate a message when it is not verbally spoken, so care should be taken in the types of words applied. In today’s times, it is difficult for some people to dedicate a large amount of time in reading workplace documents, and you may often find that a large portion of people generally skim through large documents. With this in mind, the approach to writing needs to be informative but also direct to the point that it grasps the reader’s attention and keeps it simple for a wide cohort.

Written communication is usually a more formal or official form of communication. It may be the recording of data in official forms or preparing client records and patient histories. All organisations will have a certain format and style to how they document.

Forms of written communication

There are several forms of written communication, consider the following examples.

Handwritten

Handwritten information is often displayed informally in the form of notes or completing pre-printed forms. Ensure your writing is legible, consider using block letters when completing forms. Always use a black or dark blue pen so the writing is clearly visible.

Typed and printed

Typed and printed forms of written communication include letters, reports, memos, certificates. Ensure your spelling, grammar and layout is correct and appropriate.

Data Entry

Data entry refers to inputting information into a database. This will probably be used when setting up client records and then updating details after consultations/treatments.

Drafting written information is the act of producing a rough copy of the formal/ ready to publish material. The reason why drafting is so important is to ensure that all areas are cross-checked for a number of reasons which can include the following:

• ensuring a sufficient coverage of all topic/ discussion points
• grammatical errors are identified and rectified
• typos are identified and rectified
• any possible gaps of information are filled
• inspiration can be included to enhance the already developed material
• work can be reformatted to suit the needs/requirements of the project.

After a draft is complete for your written document, it is always best to get a third party to review the document (most likely your supervisor or manager). This particular step is very important as it gives you a different perspective and may provide some assurance that the information is valid, clear, considerate, complete, and free of errors.

Hot tip!

If you are concerned about your grammar, punctuation or spelling, a sure way to keep on top of this is through the installation of Grammarly. Grammarly can be installed on your device and can be used for reviewing your spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Feedback on written communication

Although it is important to collect feedback for all forms of communication, written information may be posted or sent out to relevant people to access. Therefore, ensuring the quality is up to standard is very important for validity, professionalism, and the overall company image. Other than that, it will also assist the individual seeking feedback with techniques and growth in writing. When seeking feedback, it is wise to keep an open mind on things which may have been missed for example, typos, misspelling, format etc. When asking for feedback, (whether it be a supervisor, co-worker or manager) it is a good start to ask specifically for constructive feedback which can assist in the development of the written material. In some circumstances, a person may already have an idea on what areas they need to alter/change but need that further confirmation from a third party.

While constructive feedback can be viewed as a negative, it is of benefit to the person on the receiving end. Constructive feedback allows the writer the opportunity to take new information on board and apply it not only to the task at hand, but to all projects thereafter, and improve their overall skills.

Occasionally you will receive a request that you cannot immediately answer or help with, thus causing a slight delay in conveying information with a client. You may need to consult with a colleague or supervisor or research some information from a third-party organisation.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are unable to convey information immediately, the following tips have been outlined for you to consider.

• Explain to the customer that you will have to ask someone else or conduct some research in order to answer their query.
• Always indicate a timeframe for when you expect to have the answer for them, for example, you may say to them, “I will get back to you by close of business today”.
• Follow up by the deadline. If you have been unable to find an appropriate answer, contact the person and explain the delay. Communication is important, people will often be patient if they are kept informed.

If you are referring the person or problem to another person or agency to deal with then always follow up with them to find out if their question or issue was answered or solved, never assume that someone else will have the same level of commitment to the situation.

If you are researching information to provide to a client then ensure you are using appropriate sources. Validated sources such as Government Department or manufacturer websites are the best, never rely on personal opinions as reliable advice (e.g. Wikipedia).

There are many types of communication systems and devices that you may be required to use as part of your job role. Each of these will have certain rules regarding their operation that you must be aware of.

Examples of communication systems

The following are examples of the various types of communication systems and examples of how they are used.

Phones and mobiles

If you are required to use the workplace telephone system or have been issued with a work mobile phone, then you must ensure you answer it professionally. If you are not available to take a call, then ensure you have a professional voicemail message recorded that identifies yourself and the business and politely requests the caller to leave a message. Always follow up on messages.

Email

Workplace email etiquette may be a formal policy within your workplace or just a general recommendation. Often you will be provided with an email signature format that you must use which incorporates your name, job role and contact details with the logo of the business. Ensure this signature is properly installed for your outgoing emails.

If you are going to be away from the office for more than a day (e.g. you are on holidays), then set up an out of office message and provide an alternative person who might be able to help with the emailer's enquiry.

Social Media

Examples include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube. When used by a workplace/business they are a form of marketing communication.

Do not comment on any public-facing social media about the business even if it is a positive message. Unless you have specifically been tasked with updating the relevant business social media feeds this is best left to your supervisor or authorised colleague.

Internet

Do not use the workplace internet for personal use, this means no personal banking, social media, emails, or general browsing. You can use your own device during an authorised break for all of these things. Also, be mindful of what you are searching for and do not inadvertently download any unknown programs or content that may harm the computer or the business.

Virtual meeting platforms

These are increasing in popularity and enable workplaces to conduct remote meetings. There are some basic considerations when participating in a virtual meeting, these include any of the following.

• Dress appropriately if you are going to activate your camera and be mindful of the background view.
• Mute your microphone when you are not speaking.
• Minimise distractions such as background noise, kids, and pets.
• Do not eat or drink when presenting.
• Stay seated and present, do not be tempted to check email or work on another project.