Helping Staff With Their Communication Skills

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

I had a mentor who often said that it is the “soft skills” that are often the “hard skills” to master. Communication is certainly at the top of that hard skills list. Poor communication skills in healthcare environments can lead to medical errors, fragmented care, poor team coordination and incivility.

In this time of social media and text messaging, clear communication can be challenging. Nurse managers tell me that they are often find themselves career coaching younger staff about their communication skills, some of whom have little experience in the art of face to face conversation. Problems often center around talking too much at the wrong times, interrupting colleagues and their manager, failure to respond to organizational emails, poor conduct in team meetings and sending inappropriate comments in text messages and emails.

Best Practices

Bruce Tulgan, a generational expert, suggests that managers need to establish clear standards for communication within the workgroup and on the unit. Ten best practices he recommends in coaching younger staff include:

Advise them to listen twice as much as they talk.
Ask them to never interrupt, check their phone or let their mind wander when someone is speaking to them.
Try to empathize with others even if you don’t agree with their viewpoint.
Exhibit respect, kindness, courtesy and good manners.
Prepare comments in advance so you are brief, direct and clear.
Before trumpeting a problem – think of at least one solution.
Take personal responsibility for everything you say and do.
Don’t make excuses when you make a mistake – apologize and make every effort to fix it.
Take your commitments and responsibilities seriously.
Give other people credit for their achievements, no matter how small.

The Leader as Coach

It goes without saying that managers who have poor communication practices themselves will have a challenging time coaching others. Make sure that your own 1:1 communication skills and electronic messages are clear, concise and high quality. You can effectively role model communication in huddles and staff meetings by establishing ground rules around the best practices discussed above.

There is an art to good communication. Some nurses are naturals at being great communicators but it can be a learned skill. The good news is that our younger staff want to develop themselves professionally. Communication can be framed as a key career development competency that will help staff avoid derailment on their career journeys.

Read to Lead

Tulgan, B. (August 1st, 2016 ATD Blog) Communication 101.