THE ABC's OF GOOD COMMUNICATION Aittention, Buitt-in Feedback, Caring ‘Your communication sis are the ‘oundtton of your relationships with ‘coworkers and patients, But in a busy heathcare envronmentygood ‘communletlon can sometimes take ‘aback seet to geting the job done fest, Perhaps you fea an there's ‘never enaugh me to sey what ‘needs to be sald, Maybe you find ‘yourself too distracted or oo ‘rezaied to realy fisten to whet cothers went fo tell you, The ABC's ‘of good communication can help you talk and Isten more eflectvely. Attention ‘We t's certahly possible to cany on routine conversations while doing other things, communtcation Works betterwhien both people give {tthein fu attention, When you need to have en important conversation vith a coworer or patient, take a moment to assess the situation, Is elther one of you trying to do too many things at once? Are you preoccupied with tasks, thoughts or Btrong feelings? Decide whether you canput other things aside to focus on tang end listening, f not, suggest another tm wen you"l both be ee of cistractons. Built-in Feedback ‘Whether you ere talking or fistening, ‘build questions into your conversa- ton to confirm understanding of Important polnis, For example, i a ‘supenisor tels you a report is due next weak, confim what day end tims Is mutually egreeable. fa Patient asies you to explain atest, ‘Palicy or procecure, folow up your, astng whetherha or ‘she understands what you've sald. Bullding feedback into your conver- ‘sational style can help you avoid misintenpretations. 135 Caring Developing a wey of tang and Istening thet conveys your concem {or others can be more Important than your words. Words are only 20 percent of communication. Mery olher factors, including body Feanguage, tone of voice and speed ‘of speech, indicate a person's stato cof mind andl affect how a person is. pperoeled. When speaking, romem- ber that aind smile or comforting ‘gesture can go a long way tovarcl Softening a cficutt message, When ‘stoning, let the speckor know you are present by nodding and show. ing interest. No matter what the ‘content of your conversation fF you chow that you cere about end ‘egpect your coworkers end patients, theyil treat you with Tespectin tum, Improve Your Relationships Its caster to send and rece the right messages when you use the ‘tools of Attention, Built-In Feedback ‘and Caring, Practiog your ABC's to improve your relatlonships at work ES] olen racers.