Using communication skills to check understanding
Learning Objectives
After considering this resource, you should understand what paraphrasing, reflecting back, clarifying and summarising are and how you might use them.
Paraphrasing, reflecting back, clarification and summarising are all valuable dimensions to your verbal communication, although collectively could be considered active listening tools. They allow you to check your understanding of what is being said, convey this understanding efficiently and pull together the multiple strands of your conversation to ensure you have taken everything on board.
This quick guide by Elizabeth Sullivan uses a case study to illustrate how paraphrasing, reflecting back, clarifying and summarising can be practically applied in a placement setting.
Reflective Questions
- How could you check that your own communication skills are good enough?
- How could you apply the skills described with a person who does not speak English?
- Would you be able to apply the skills described if you were interviewing a child of eight years?
- Could these skills be used with several people at once, for example with a family?