GROUP COUNSELLING SKILLS

1) VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Volume. Volume refers to loudness or softness. Counselling trainees

need to speak at a level of audibility that is comfortable and easy for
clients to hear. Some trainees let their voices trail away at the end
of sentences. Some unnecessarily soften their voice to match that of
their client. Though a booming voice overwhelms, speaking too quietly
may give the impression that one is a ‘wimp’. A firm and confident
voice is a good starting point from which to make variations as
appropriate, for instance by speaking more gently or more loudly.

• Articulation. Articulation refers to the clarity of speech. Trainees and

clients who enunciate words well are easier to understand.

• Pitch. Pitch refers to the height or depth of one’s voice. An optimum

pitch range includes all the levels at which a pleasing voice can be
produced without strain. Errors of pitch include either being too
high pitched or too low pitched.

• Emphasis. A trainee uses vocal emphasis when responding to clients’

feelings and nuances and when sharing feelings. Trainees may use
either too much emphasis and seem melodramatic or too little emphasis
and come across as wooden. In addition, they may use emphasis in
the wrong places.

• Rate. Often speech rate is measured by words per minute. Speech rate
depends not only on how quickly words are spoken, but on the frequency
and duration of pauses between them. If speaking very quickly,
trainees appear anxious and clients may have difficulty understanding
them. On the other hand, too ponderous a speech rate can be boring
or pompous. Pausing and being silent at the right times is another
important aspect of speech rate.

Activity 2.2 Creating vocal communication

2) BODILY COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Facial expressions
Facial expressions are perhaps the main vehicle for sending body messages.
Ekman, Friesen and Ellsworth (1972) have found that there are seven
main facial expressions of emotion: happiness, interest, surprise, fear,
sadness, anger, and disgust or contempt. A person’s mouth and eyebrows
can convey much information: for instance, ‘down in the mouth’ and
‘raised eyebrows’.
Gaze
Gaze, or looking at other people in the area of their faces, is both a
way of showing interest and a way of collecting facial information.
Speakers look at listeners about 40 per cent of the time and listeners
look at speakers about 70–75 per cent of the time. Gaze is useful for
coordinating speech: for example, speakers look just before the end of
Women utterances to collect feedback about their listener’s reactions.
are generally more visually attentive than men in all measures of gaze
(Argyle, 1999).

Eye contact
Eye contact is a more direct way than gaze of sending messages, whether
of interest, anger or sexual attraction.

Gestures
Gestures are physical movements that can frame or illustrate words coming
before, during or after what is being said. An example of using a gesture
to display and emphasize an emotion is clenching one’s fist to show
aggression. Gestures may also illustrate shapes, sizes or movements, particularly
when these are difficult to describe in words. How people gesture
can vary according to their sex. Sometimes men’s gestures are larger,
more sweeping and forceful, while women’s gestures are smaller and more
inhibited. Gestures can also take the place of words: for example, either
nodding one’s head up and down or moving it sideways for saying ‘yes’
or ‘no’, respectively.
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Posture
A counselling trainee’s posture may convey various messages. Turning
one’s body towards the client is more encouraging than turning away
from them. In addition, whether the trainee leans forwards or backwards
may indicate interest or uninterest. Height tends to be associated with
status: for instance, one ‘talks down to’ or ‘talks up to’ someone. Small
people may be at a disadvantage unless the other person’s body posture
is changed: for instance by sitting down.
Posture may also communicate how anxious a person is: for instance,
sitting with arms and legs tightly crossed suggests being emotionally as
well as literally uptight. However, for a woman, it is possible to appear
too relaxed: some men may mistakenly perceive uncrossed and open legs
as a sign of sexual availability whether a skirt, trousers or jeans are worn.
Such perceptions manifest confused standards in how people decode body
messages.

Physical closeness
The degree of physical closeness that is comfortable for Britons and
Antipodeans is generally the same (Hall, 1966). The zones vary according
to the nature of the relationship. In the intimate zone (between 6 to
18 inches) it is easy to touch and be touched. This zone is reserved
for spouses, lovers, close friends and relatives. The personal zone (between
18 and 48 inches) is appropriate for less close friends and for parties
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and other social gatherings. The social zone (between 4 and 12 feet) is
comfortable for people not known at all well. The public zone (over 12
feet) is the distance for addressing public gatherings