Introduction!
Do you know why effective communication and interpersonal interaction is so important? Well, if you don’t then this booklet will be perfect for you. Within this booklet you will learn about many different aspects of communication and interpersonal interaction. Whilst working at the care home you will come across many various types of communication and even some barriers too. It is important to overcome these barriers quickly otherwise the communication cycle will be broken and messages will not get from one person to the other.
In order to work with and help the people in the care home you will need to be good at communicating with them. To do this you would need to be sensitive about other people’s feeling and also give them sensitive feedback or advise. Often residents in the home may be feeling a variety of different feeling so as a care worker you need to be able to handle the situation correctly, residents may feel anxious, upset, afraid or sad and it may be for many different reasons and it is your job to comfort them and help them in the best way you can. Different contexts or different situations will enable you to learn everything you need to know, for example if a resident of the care home is upset and crying you would need to take the correct approach in helping them. If you go in blazing saying “omg, what’s the matter” and signalling for a hug, then they may push you away and then you cannot help them. Whereas if you speak to them calmly and let them talk to you first you will get more out of them and be able to help them better.
In this booklet there will be information on:
Context of communication
Group communication
One to one communication
Verbal + non- verbal communication
Technological communication
Written communication
Special methods of communication
Barriers to communication
Interpersonal interaction

Context of communication
When talking to people you don’t already know, you should always try and make the right first impression, also in a conversation try to create a positive atmosphere. There are 3 stages to an effective conversation,
Greeting or warm up
Conversation or information exchange
Farewell or winding down.
Greeting or warm up-
This can be anything from just a wave or actually starting a conversation with someone but either way it is a greeting and this is also a warm up for a strong conversation. The warm up of a conversation is the most important because it is the part when you will know what the conversation will be about and where it is going to go. If you start off a conversation badly, by for example walking up to someone and hugging them even though you don’t know then the conversation might not last very long as you have made it uncomfortable and awkward before even saying anything.
Conversation and information exchange
Although the first part of a conversation is important the whole point that you started the conversation was to transfer information to another person. For example in a meeting about patients in a hospital the purpose of it is to exchange information between doctors and nurses so that everyone is aware of what they need to be.
Farewell or winding down
After creating the right kind of feeling for the situation you can then start to talk about the topic that you want to discuss. When ending a conversation you should always do it in a polite way and once again creating the right feeling and emotional impact. Saying something like “see you soon” and “nice seeing you” will make the other person feel like you have actually liked having a conversation with them and therefore making them happy.

Group communication!
Group communication is when you communicate with more than 1 person at the same time. An example of group communication is in a meeting full of healthcare professionals talking about things relevant to their individual job roles. This kind of communication will only work