Communication Skills for Program Advisors: Managing Red Flags

Based on the work of the Center for Health Training, Oakland, CA www.centerforhealthtraining.org

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Communication is the basis of a good working relationship between the Program Advisor and student. Positive communication helps create an environment where the student feels comfortable , safe, and willing to share his/her thoughts, feelings, and goals. This enables the student and Program Advisor to work together to fulfill those goals.
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Developing Relationships 2. Effective Listening Responding with Empathy

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Developing Relationships Resiliency Stages of the Relationship

The First Meeting

Self-Disclosure and Stating Personal Opinions
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Resiliency
The resiliency approach focuses on what students can do and identifying strengths. It also stresses the vital role caring adults can play in the lives of young adults. Caring adults can be considered turnaround people. Turnaround people Demonstrate caring, compassion, and respect by looking underneath the negative behavior to see the pain and suffering that contribute to it Maintain high expectations by mirroring back the strength that has gotten the student this far and conveying the idea that you can make it Link the student to activities, events, or resources that support the student Activities 1 & 2: Finding Hidden Strengths and Believing in Your Students
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Stages of the Relationship

Relationships with your students go through several stages. The Current State of Affairs The student tells you his/her story. In terms of building rapport, this is an extremely important time. From hearing these stories, you begin to understand: What the issues are as they see them How much insight and maturity they possess Who their main sources of support are, if any Other information that will help you develop a god working relationship The Preferred State of Affairs Helping the student identify goals and giving hope that the problem can be solved. Strategies for Action You discuss with your students what they are willing to do to meet their goals and then help them choose strategies.
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The First Meeting

The first meeting sets a positive tone for your relationship. Try to keep an open mind and set aside any assumptions you might have made. Use this this first meeting to create a warm tone and set appropriate expectations. Take a moment to think about what kind of impression you want to make. Think of when you started in your job. Who were the people who made the strongest first impressions? Who did not? Who were the people who were caring, available, and nonjudgmental? How did they communicate that? Its important to communicate to your students exactly what you do and that you really want to know them as individuals. Reminding the students the goals of the program, your role in it, and what they can expect of you will greatly affect how they view your relationship.

Activity 3: Thinking about the First Meeting

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Effective Listening
Active Listening Body Language and Barriers to Listening Techniques for Active Listening

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Active listening is the interaction between the student and the Program Advisor. The PA must try to understand what the client is saying and communicate back those feelings and thoughts so the client knows s/he is being understood.

Body Language
Before you begin talking or listening, it is important to consider the nonverbal cues that you give and receive. PA Body Language Checklist Does your posture seem alert and attentive? Are you leaning forward? Are you looking at the student? Does your voice indicate interest and match the clients emotional expression? Is the tone of your voice warm and inviting? Harsh and critical? Is your body still? Are you playing with your hair? Yawning? Fidgeting? Checking your texts? Does your facial expression match the emotional tone of what the client is saying? The Students Body Language What does their body language say about them? What kind of eye contact do they make? Are they fast or slow moving? Do they talk quickly or slowly? Do they fidget, or are they calm? Do they convey interest? Fear? Anger? Sadness?
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Barriers to Listening
Daydreaminglosing attention, thoughts wandering Labelingputting the person in a category before hearing the evidence Scoring pointsrelating everything you hear to your own experience Mind readingpredicting what the other person is thinking Rehearsingpracticing your lines in your head Cherrypickinglistening to a key piece of information, then switching off Interruptingbeing unable to resist giving advice Duelingcountering their statements with your own opposing statements Side-stepping sentimentcountering expressions of emotions with jokes or cliches Activity 4: Observing Body Language
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Techniques for Active Listening

Encouraginghow you convey interest and subtly tell your student to continue talking. Example: Small verbal or nonverbal prompts. Uh-huh. Open-ended questionsencourages client to talk about experiences to get a broad sense of whats going happening. Example: Tell me more. What are your thoughts about? Closed-ended questionsused to obtain factual information. Example: What time did this happen?
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Techniques for Active Listening

Moving from the General to the Specific allows the PA to recognize patterns and see where there is room for change. You need details! Example: When does the fighting occur? What happens right before? Are there any warning signs? Summarizing affirms what the students has said and shows that youve understood the whole message. State the overall message. Example: So, all in all, you think graduate school is the next thing you want to do.
Activity 5: What Would You Do?
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Responding with Empathy

Reaching for Feelings
Students may tell you about an event without mentioning their feelings about it. Sometimes, they may not be aware of their feelings and may need help identifying them. Others may know their feelings but need help talking about them. (Its okay to sit with silence!)

Acknowledge Feelings Validate and normalize! I can understand why that seems unfair. If that happened to me, I would be upset, too. Articulating Feelings Articulating clients feelings communicates empathy. Activity 6: Putting it All Together
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