Miscommunication Paradigm

Miscommunication.

I was speaking with a college student the other day and was asked about communication or miscommunication in relation to cultural difference. Interesting topic for a social work major, but it did make me ponder the same issue in relation to nursing, incivility, and workplace challenges. How many disasters have we created because we’ve miscommunicated or communicated poorly with other professionals?

The popular topic in nursing these days revolves around incivility in the workplace. Communication is one area in which some professionals believe we can make an impact. Agreed! Dealing with incivility requires skills like having difficult conversations with others. The conversations where you communicate that the behavior observed or how the situation is perceived can be clearly understood.

Clearly mitigating a civil response to a challenging workplace issue is one thing, but poor communication and a hostile work environment are not only bad for workplace relationships. They have an impact on patient safety and the outcomes for our patients in the clinical setting (McClure, Poulin, Sovie, & Wandelt, 2010). There are more risks at stake when miscommunication occurs and as nursing professional, we need make it our goal to clear up our communication challenges first.

Clear communication or miscommunication at this juncture could be the difference between the beginnings of resolution or increases the ire in the situation. In the November 2015 American Nurse Today, Cynthia Clark identifies that having these difficult conversations in relation to incivility is challenging at best. The stress of engaging in these conversation, the feeling that one is not prepared to have these types of conversations with other professionals, or because we as professionals are not emotionally or mentally prepared to engage in these conversations all are factors in why we don’t engage.

So how comfortable are you with having difficult communication with others? Would you be certain you could handle your communication in this difficult situation with clarity, not adding to the challenge, but resolving it? Do you have the requisite skill sets to ensure you improve your communication and devolve into uncivilized workplace?

We are going to go into detail into this conversation more in 2016, but let’s give you some basics now. My request is for you to do your own self-evaluation on how well you handle difficult communication situations. Also, how well do you think communicate?

First, communication is about the sender and the receiver. Simple as that is, we all know that between those two human beings, there are many opportunities to create miscommunication. Being as specific as possible, you can help prepare for difficult communication by laying out exactly what the issue is or the problem. This defining of the problem will allow you to take away the emotion and other issues which can confuse the problem. Clearly understand what your problem is so you can clearly communicate your concern.

Second, understand the discriminators and paradigm from which you are coming from AND those from the receiver. Your frame of reference and theirs will greatly impact how you hear and understand the conversation happening. As we learned in freshman year oral communication classes, the message is the responsibility of sender.

Lastly, practice and feedback on your communication is a common core skill set of any leader. When dealing with communication challenges, there is no better way to improve then to practice. And honing the craft of communication is bettered by constant feedback on how you did in your communication. Comfort will come with confidence and improving your skill. Practice will bring you both of those habits.

This is just the surface of avoiding miscommunication. In the beginning of next year, we will delve deeper into this subject. But till then, take some time to look at your skill set in communication. Can you improve? Share your thoughts and examples with us!

Leading with you!

Dean

References:

Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American Nurse Today, 10(11), 18-21.

McClure, M., Poulin, M., Sovie, M. D., & Wandelt, M. A. (2010). Magnet hospitals attraction and retention of professional nurses. American Nurses Association, Silver Spring, MD.

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