Communication: Glossary of Terms
Terms
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- Ability
- a person's capacity of receiving and sending messages; the capacity ot hear, see, speak, and comprehend messages influence the communication process.
- Active listening
- fixing complete attention and concentration on the sender's communication and conveying a real desire to hear and understand what is being communicated; verbally and nonverbally
- Brevity
- leaving out extra words and details from the message.
- Channels
- these are the senses through which communication is shared; communication is exchanged through auditory, tactile, and visual senses.
- Clarity
- saying what is meant and meaning what is said.
- Client
- the individual toward whom health services are directed, including his/her specific characteristics, values, and beliefs that he/she brings to the health care setting.
- Client's significant others
- the client's family members, including spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, other relatives, and individuals who are significant people in the client's life, but who are not health professionals.
- Congruent communication
- everything that a person says and does is consistent; the verbal and nonverbal messages sent to the receiver "match" each other.
- Connotative meaning
- an implied meaning; one that is personally understood, not necessarily generally understood/accepted.
- Context
- the setting in which communication takes place, including the time, place, and number of participants involved.
- Denotative meaning
- a meaning that is generally shared by individuals who share a common language.
- Empathy
- the capacity to respond to another's feelings and experiences as if they were your own.
- Feedback
- a link from the receiver back to the sender that acts to regulate and monitor the flow of information within the system; verbally and nonverbally.
- Genuineness
- means acting in an authentic way toward your client.
- Incongruent communication
- the verbal message and the nonverbal message contradict each other: when the nonverbal message suggests something different other than the content of the verbal message; inconsistency.
- Kinesics
- focuses on the use of body motion to communicate; includes gestures, posture, facial expressions, eye movement, and appearance.
- Meaning
- can be interpreted in two ways. Denotation is the generally agreed-upon, concrete meaning of a word. Connotation is the personal interpretation.
- Message
- the content of what is communicated along with the corresponding nonverbals. The words used, the gestures, tone of voice and pacing are all part of the message sent.
- Nonverbal communication
- the unspoken communication that occurs between tow persons; including such elements as tone of voice, gestures, posture, touch, physical appearance, physical distance, and facial expressions.
- Pacing
- refers to the speed or rate at which the message is delivered.
- Paralanguage
- refers to vocal sounds that run alongside our use of language. The “ahs†and “ums†that accompany our spoken words and the voice qualities, characteristics, intensity, and pitch tell us a lot about the sender's emotional state.
- Personal variables
- are found within each person involved in the communication. These variables can include background, self-concept, values, attitudes, beliefs and cultural and religious influences that impact the personal meaning of the message.
- Process recording
- is a recording (written, audio tape, video tape) of the nurse-client interaction. The recording is critically analyzed to help the nurse recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the interaction.
- Proxemics
- the study of how individuals use and interpret space within the communication process.
- Receiver
- interprets the message based on his/her communication skills, attitudes knowledge and socio-cultural system.
- Relevance
- refers to making sure there's a logical relationship between your message and the topic at hand.
- Respect
- acting with a positive regard toward your clients, considering them as people with real human value and dignity.
- Sender
- selects information and formulates a message based on his/her communication skills, attitudes, knowledge and socio-cultural system.
- Social interaction
- is the communication we have with our friends and acquaintances. It develops spontaneously and includes a mutual sharing of ideas and experiences, thus meeting the needs of both the sender and the receiver.
- Socio-cultural background
- the variations in cultural backgrounds affect and influence nonverbal and verbal communication.
- Therapeutic communication
- is the use of the communication process in a planned, deliberate way to establish a working relationship and to meet the specific needs of the client.
- Timing
- refers to appropriate and contract amount of time.
- Tone of voice
- refers to the tone, mood, or affect in which the words are spoken.
- Verbal communication
- the words or content of the message.
- Vocabulary
- refers to the words used in a communication exchange.