Teaching Through Effective Speaking

Teaching through Effective Speaking

As a nurse, there are many opportunities to teach patients and their families through effective speaking. How well I teach patients about wound care and management can have a direct impact on their quality of health. Wound care has many different aspects. My responsibility is to teach and demonstrate the proper procedures to help patients improve their quality of life. This involves teaching and speaking in small groups, which usually includes not only the patient but also members of his/her family. It is very important to make sure that the patient thoroughly understands the subject and can demonstrate the desired procedure back to me. Through my various teaching experiences, I have come to understand the importance of visual and vocal aspects in speech, active listening, and speech content.

Visual and Vocal Aspects of Speech

It is important to remember that how material regarding wound care is presented can be just as important as the material being presented. The physical delivery and verbal delivery help the patient to learn and understand the importance of wound care and management. Variation throughout the speech is necessary to create an interesting and effective presentation.

Concrete Experience

In my teaching experiences, I am teaching the patient and at least one member of his/her family. My job is to show the importance of performing the desired procedure properly to help improve the patient's quality of life. I must show through my words and actions that I am knowledgeable and confident in the material and skills I want the patient to learn and perform.

When teaching, I prefer to sit at the same level as my patient and their family. It is also easier for me to demonstrate a technique and have the patient or family member demonstrate it back to me. Posture can make a big difference in teaching. I maintain a posture that is professional and shows confidence in what I am teaching. I stand or sit upright, but not too straight. I do not slouch or slump. I also use gestures to help emphasis key points and to demonstrate important techniques. I keep my gestures professional and do not make gestures that may be considered playful or derogatory. Eye contact is a key element to use when trying to teach someone. It helps me to judge if they understand the material I am teaching. It is also important for me to keep my facial expressions neutral and friendly. The patient and his/her family need to understand the importance of the material being presented to them. Positive reinforcement can help to build confidence about material being learned.

It is also necessary for me to place verbal emphasis on key points. Not only the tone of my voice is important, but also the rate and volume also have a great impact on helping patients learn. I make sure that I speak at an even rate and slow down to help emphasis key points. I make sure that I am not speaking too fast. A consistent rate helps to hold the attention of the patient. To emphasis key points, I also either speak a little louder or repeat the point several times. This helps the patient know that these are key issues to remember. I will also have the patient or his/her family explain the key points back to me. That way I can make sure they see things the way I am trying to explain them. It also helps to reinforce that they understand the concept and will be able to perform the procedure on their own. A positive attitude helps the learning process flow more smoothly. This along with positive reinforcement helps the patient to gain more confidence in handling their health problems.

Reflective Observations

Teaching can be an anxious time due to the environment and the fact that a major health even has recently occurred. Patients and their families seem to respond better when I am sitting at eye level with them and proceed slowly. This gives the patient and his/her family a chance to let the material I am teaching sink in. It also helps them to feel more comfortable about asking questions. If I slump in a chair, I can convey the impression that I am not interested in the patient or the material I am trying to teach. It is also important that I do not cross my arms. This can be perceived as a negative attitude. I need to make the patient and his/her family realize that I care about their outcomes and that the material I am teaching is very important.

When I make eye contact, I shows that I am genuinely interested in teaching and helping the patient succeed. By maintaining eye contact, I seem to put the person at ease and make them more likely to ask questions about things they do not understand. It is important to ask the patient and his/her family questions about material already taught. This helps to build confidence and encourage eagerness to learn. Having family members involved helps because sometimes they think of questions the patient has not thought of or vise versa. In addition, family members may later remember information that patients have forgotten.

My posture and gestures can directly influence how well a patient or family member learns. If I slouch or slump, my patients may see me as being sloppy, unfocused, or uninterested. If I seem uninterested, the patient or family member has a harder time understanding the concept. They may also not take the material seriously and feel that it is not important. I cannot be too serious or too laid back, either of these can cause anxiety for the patient. This makes people less likely to understand the material being presented to them about wound care. It is also important to provide a lot of positive reinforcement to help the patient and family members develop confidence in their learning experience. If I only focus on the negative, learning can be greatly restricted.

I have noticed that patients and family members tend to notice key points that are repeated frequently or emphasized in a louder voice. Key points need to be presented in a manner that the patient or family member can easily understand. When the patient or family member repeats a key point in a later conversation, it reinforces that the teaching has been effective. It also helps build confidence in knowledge learned by the family member and the patient. I have observed that if I talk too fast my patients have more trouble comprehending the material being taught. I think this is because my words become mumbled and the patient loses interest.

Abstract Conceptualization

The eyes are said to be a key to the soul; therefore, the eyes are a very important part of teaching through effective speech. According to Ritts & Stein "eye contact helps regulate the flow of communication, signals interest