Communication and practice within the early years environment Essay - 1

Communication and practice within the early years environment - Essay Example It will be a way for the practitioner to assess whether or not she is on the right track in terms of communicating effectively with children, parents, colleagues and other professionals and make the necessary amendments to be a better communicator. Interpersonal communication is the process of sending and receiving information between two or more people. Almost anything that takes place in work and personal life involves communication (Dubrin, 1996). It consists of verbal and nonverbal interactions which play a part in the effective exchange of ideas. Lefebvre (2008) advises that when speaking, one must also be aware of body language and tone and inflection of voice. She notes that different ideas may be conveyed by simply emphasising different parts of the statement. Being an active listener helps one understand the message being relayed to him. As the listener, one should hold his response until the speaker is done, and keenly observe nonverbal cues expressed. It must always be rem embered that communication is a give and take process. One must learn to wait his turn to be the speaker and the listener (Lefebvre, 2008). This is one important key in effective communication. Although currently, there are many available forms of communication, this essay will be limited to the discussion of face to face interpersonal communication, most especially in the context of the early years environment. It will draw specific, practical examples from the practitioner’s experiences in placement. Verbal communication or speaking out to another person is often accompanied by non-verbal language which includes facial expressions, gestures, posture, body language and tone of voice. Sometimes, such non-verbal expressions say more than the verbalizations of a person. Whereas verbal language must be delivered clearly for it to be understood, it is much more difficult with non-verbal language (Lee, 2008). With verbal language, most of the time, the verbalization is thought out first, before a person releases it. However, with non-verbal language, it naturally comes out, even without thinking. Hence, the non-verbal communication can sometimes betray what a person says when his actions are not compatible with his words. Usually, this is where miscommunication occurs (LeFebvre, 2008). An individual’s communication skills reflects his emotional intelligence. Goleman (1998) defines emotional intelligence as one’s capacity for recognising one’s own feelings and those others, to be able to motivate oneself and manage emotions well for one’s sake as well as for his relationship with others. This means that if one knows how he will react to a certain situation, he will be able to manage his communication style better and be able to send his message across effectively. Thus, it is essential that a practitioner becomes emotionally intelligent in dealing with various situations in placement in order to establish and maintain harmonious in terpersonal communication (Goleman, 2006). From the placement period with young children, the practitioner learned how important interpersonal communication is. Through daily interactions with children, they develop relationships that help them about themselves and the world that is why adults in the early years setting should be able to create and maintain positive and healthy relationships