Relevance of Communication in Social Work Practice

Richi Simon

Assistant Professor

Department of Social Work, BSSS

Abstract:

Communication is considered to be an essential skill in Social Work practice. The paper throws
light on the significance of communication while carrying out Social Work. Social workers are
change agents and communication is a vital aspect for bringing the desired change. This paper
also emphasizes the use of communication at different levels of interventions, barriers to
communication and ways to overcome them. The paper, thus, highlights communication as a
key concern for the growth of Social Work Profession.

Key words: Communication, Communication Barriers, Social Work, Change Agent

Introduction

Social work is the professional service, rendered to make a positive change in the lives of needy
and deprived people. Many prominent people have defined Social Work; some such significant
definitions are as follows:

According to W.A. Friedlander (1955)

“Social Work is a professional service, based on scientific knowledge and skills in human
relations, which assist individuals, alone in groups, to obtain social and personal satisfaction
and independence”

Herbert H. Stroup in 1960 defined Social Work as “the art of bringing various resources to bear
on individual, group and community needs by the application of a scientific method of helping
people to help themselves”

Thus, it can be said that Social Work is an art based on scientific knowledge used to satisfy
social and personal felt needs of the vulnerable and underprivileged sectors of the society. To
satisfy the wants of the disadvantaged people, it is very important to understand and
communicate their needs to the resource and service providers and help them reach the
beneficiaries.
Communication is like a bridge that is used to cross the river of misunderstandings. To
understand communication following definitions can be helpful

According to D.E. McFarland “Communication may be broadly defined as the process of

meaningful interaction among human beings.”

Louis A Allen defines communication as “the sum of all things one person does when he wants
to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a
systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.”

It is much more than sending and receiving messages, it is directed to generate some action. In
case of Social Work this action is the change that social workers intend to bring.

Communication at different levels

Good communication, both oral and written, is at the heart of best practices in social work. The
term communication, not just implies that verbal communication is needed to spread the word
across but non verbal communication is equally crucial. It is correctly said that 90% of
communication is non verbal in nature. Social Workers play many roles at micro, mezzo and
macro levels of intervention, but whatever they do; communication is the most essentially
required skill. Social workers work with a variety of clients, some, who may not be in a position
to communicate, like, victims of atrocities, children, weak and disabled etc., it is a challenge to
understand such clients. While communicating with the vulnerable sections, it is not just
important to understand their words, but even their underlying emotions and feelings,
something that they do not speak but express. Social Work as the art of helping people can be
truly of worth with proper communication. Right from the beginning, with the intake of client
where the social worker must empathize and understand the client, to building rapport and
strong relations, to intervention, to successful follow up, communication skills are of utmost
importance. Communication skills are indispensable for establishing effective and respectful
relationships not just with the service users but also with service providers, and other
stakeholders. These are also necessary for assessments, decision making and joint working with
colleagues and other professionals.

The best Social Work practices across the globe should be analyzed, discussed and put to use to
eradicate the existing problems. All this can be possible through effective and meaningful
communication.

Significance of Communication
A. While using Primary Methods of Social Work
Social Worker as a professional intervenes at different levels and can use different methods
of social work, as per the need of the problem. Using primary methods-social case work,
social group work and community organization, social worker directly intervenes into the
problems of client at micro, mezzo and macro level. While working with the client, social
worker initially needs to develop a preliminary understanding of the problem and the client.
Jada Pinkett Smith identifies communication as the best way to create strong relationships.
As the client develops the sense of empathy and warmth and gets motivated to share the
problem, social worker gets the opportunity to explore client’s problem in depth as well as
to know the expectations of client attached with the agency. At the same time social worker
clarifies the type of services offered by the agency. Thus, the core problem and associated
problems are diagnosed. The actual treatment then begins. Here also, the social worker
needs to be patient, active listener and effective communicator to guide the client so that
the future course of action be planned and executed. Time and again obstacles may arise
when client needs to be motivated and encouraged so as to generate a feeling of hope.
Even after treatment, social worker needs to follow up the treatment to check the progress
in client. In every stage, communication plays a key role and enables the social worker to
play certain roles with ease, like-

1. Enabler
2. Facilitator
3. Guide
4. Motivator
5. Mediator
6. Broker
7. Counselor
8. Advocate
9. Analyst
10. Consultant
11. Consultee
12. Planner
13. Programme Developer
14. Social Activist etc.

B. While using Secondary Methods of Social Work

Communication is not just necessary while using primary methods but equally relevant
while using secondary methods-Social Welfare Administration, Social Work Research and
Social Action. Secondary methods facilitate primary methods at the same time; they are
based on primary methods. Be it a plan to be made, a policy to be designed, a scheme to be
 launched, an act to be framed, any amendment, any bill or any other means to administer
welfare services to the society, communication plays a major role. The needs of the society
are to be communicated to the administrators and the welfare measures need to be
communicated back to the beneficiaries for a smooth functioning of the society. New
arenas of social work practice need to be explored, at the same time the present practices
need to be revised and propagated. The quest for the unknown becomes fruitful when its
findings are communicated and used for further exploration. Publications today, add to the
existing knowledge base making it more worthy, as correctly quoted by Neil Armstrong,
“Research is creating new knowledge.”

“Nothing in the world is stable, but change.” Need for change indicates dissatisfaction with
the present system. Being a change agent, social workers need to use strategies to
collaborate, convince, coerce, cooperate, negotiate, and disrupt efforts for the welfare of
all. For action, plan is a must, next come organization and execution. For a successful action,
effective communication is a must so that people come to discover the pressing problems,
develop clarity in their minds, highlight the reasons for change and make them acceptable,
with acceptance things are likely to change.

Importance of Written Communication

Historically, social work profession has emphasized the importance of skills in spoken
communication but has accorded less attention to effective written communication (Prince,
1996). Written assessments may play a crucial part in a chain of events and decisions well
beyond your direct involvement with a particular circumstance. It is important to remember
that written communication are social exchanges, and they serve to inform, clarify or persuade
others for many social service purposes, and are as much part of daily communications as
speaking and listening. The most effective way to develop social work practice is by influencing
the channels you can have at national and international level, as they greatly influence the
profession. So it is vital that you develop efficiency and good time management in your writing
habits as well as in the other spheres of work.

Barriers to communication
It is easy to assume that communication skills are intuitive and universal, but communicating
with service users with specific needs and issues requires a high level of professional skill. Good
communication is essential in Social Work.

It is rightly said by Tony Robbins, “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all
different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our
communication with others.”
Social workers need to be conscious and sensitive to tone, posture and gestures, behavior,
facial expressions, clothes and appearances. Silence and stillness are also potent forms of
communication. It is estimated that only around 7% of what is communicated is via words alone
(Stacks and Salwen, 2009); the remaining is communicated via non-verbal cues and tone of
voice.

George Bernard Shaw figured, “The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it
has been accomplished.”

Four types of barriers are- process barriers, physical barriers, semantic barriers, and psycho-
social barriers (Eisenberg, 2010).

Process barriers arise when breakdown occurs in any step- Sender, Encoding, Medium,
Decoding, Receiver and Feedback. Physical barriers include interference from other person,
noise, and inappropriate set up. Semantic barriers encompass language, meaning attached to
words, jargons etc. Lack of-sincerity and empathy, improper self perception, role confusion,
prejudices, inability to communicate and listen, culture and traditional stereotypes etc,
comprise psycho-social barriers.

A trained and vigilant social worker with practice may be able to overcome these barriers, but
with time and advancement in technology, new challenges emerge. Today, we find a growth in
the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Internet and technology has
changed the way how people relate to one another. Relationship being a central concern in
social work, needs to be understood and so does the new ways of developing relationships.
Social workers need to understand that many relationships develop solely online. Social
workers must be aware of the positive and negative effects of such relationships on their
clients, with a clear understanding of how relationships are mediated by ICTs. Apart from
relationship, confidentiality of client’s information is also to be maintained, especially when
records are stored electronically. Electronic security another key concern to be kept in mind
while practicing social work. Services provided over internet may not reach all, especially the
remote areas and those struck by calamities.

Being Effective Social Worker: Overcoming Communication Barriers

Lee Iacocca said, “We can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t
get you anywhere.”

Barriers are there in everybody’s life but as correctly said by Christopher Reeve, “A hero is an
ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming
obstacles.”
So how does one overcome communication barriers? Stacy Zieger in her article cites the
following requirements to be met by a social worker for being an effective communicator-

1. Active and attentive listening skills

2. Ability to fetch necessary information by using language carefully and applying
techniques like role playing or word association
3. Making eye contact with the client and using proper gesture, posture and space to make
the client feel comfortable. This also helps gain trust of the client.
4. Being non-judgmental and impartial.
5. Avoiding unnecessary generalizations.
6. Using proper tone and pitch while communicating with client.

The "7 C’s of Communication" a much-quoted propounded by Cutlip and Center enlists the
following attributes for effective communication.
1. Completeness- Message to be communicated should be complete; no important
information should be missed out. All information provided to client and collected from
client should be complete in all sense.
2. Conciseness- Rule of thumb- keep it short and simple. People have busy life, don’t
elaborate unnecessarily. But remember, conciseness should never be at the cost of
completeness.
3. Consideration- Know your audience. For a Social Worker, client is the audience. Step in
the shoes of the client. Understand your client, his situations and know what your client
wants.
4. Concreteness- Be particular and precise, this helps gain confidence of the client.
5. Courtesy- Show respect. Every individual has inherent dignity and worth and this should
be reflected while interacting with client.
6. Clarity- Be clear in your thoughts and goals and help your client being clear with what is
intended.
7. Correctness- Be correct in whatever you convey. Do not make false promises. Use
proper verbal and non-verbal language. Let the message conveyed be exact, correct and
well-timed.
Ray Davis said, “A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.” Patience and
perseverance to surmount barriers can make miracles come true, the only thing to be
concerned about is not to stop and keep trying, keep exploring.

Gordon Carson in his article highlights the ways how social workers can act as a medium to
overcome language, cultural and religious barriers in safeguarding children. He emphasizes how
communication with agencies, religious leaders and people influences people to overcome their
problems in protection of children. He also stresses how the resources present in the
communities can act as ‘parent champions’ and help and support others in need of help with
parenting. All this was possible because social workers turned up as effective communicators.

Remember “Nothing is impossible; the word itself says 'I'm possible'!”

Communication in Social Work: Educator’s perspective

Teaching Social Work is a challenging yet satisfying task. Many innovations like e-learning,
practice oriented approach etc. can be seen in social work discipline yet many areas of
improvement exist, one such area can be understood from the study published by the
University of York, Center for Reviews and dissemination, highlighted that expertise among
social work educators is much greater than what is reflected in the text, many innovative
practices are missing from the literature.

Pioneering work should be published so that others can learn from it.

Another area to be emphasized is the use of electronic communication; every new venture
should turn as an inspiration for the beginners. New ideas, approaches and strategies should be
discussed through electronic communication. Not just learners but even the educators should
inculcate the habit of using electronic media to propagate their best practices.

Conclusion
Whether learning, practicing or teaching, communication is like an asset which can be used to
enlighten the world. Communication in Social Work is not merely a skill but much like a vital
organ, without which it may cease to exist. Like a budding profession in India, Social Work has a
long way to go; those in this field have to contribute to help this profession grow.

References

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Retrieved January 24, 2015 from http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2011/09/08/how-
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http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/projects/communication_skills_social_work_education.
htm

Cutlip, S. and Center, A. (1952). Effective Public Relations. New York: Prentice Hall.
Available from Google Books
Eisenberg, E. M. (2010). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and
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Mishra, P.D. and Mishra, B. (2004). Social Work Profession in India. Lucknow: New Royal
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Miley, K. K., O’Melia, M.W., DuBois, B.L. (2007). Generalist Social Work Practice: An
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Reamer, F.G. (2008, May/June). The Challenge of Electronic Communication. Social

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