Top Tips

Below are some top tips to ensuring effective communication with children and adults. 

• Give your full attention- use eye contact to ensure you are giving your full attention to somebody.
• Be aware of your body language- 70% of communication is non verbal. Think about what your body and facial expressions are saying as well. This is particularly important with babies and young children.
• Active listening- Give everybody a chance to speak without interrupting. Show active listening by nodding and smiling in agreement.Depending on the circumstance, demonstrate empathy and sympathy when listening.
• Take into account individual needs-  All children are different, language needs are different and children are at different stages of speech and language development. Some children/ parents may have English as an additional language and may require you to speak more slowly and in more simple sentences (avoid shouting to get your point across), some may have hearing impairments so may require use of visual aids or lip reading. 
• Monitor the environment- When having conversations with adults and children think about the noise level of the room, you don’t want to be shouting over background noise, and whether the conversation with an adult is best held in private away from other children and adults .i.e. if you are discussing something of a sensitive nature. 
• Positioning- Think about where you are standing in relation to who you are communicating with. If it is with a child get down to their level and respect their personal space.