Professional Portfolio SOWK14005 Assessment 3

Reflexive Practice Summary

As the course has unfolded I have been able to reflect upon my skills and abilities past and present to practice assertive communication.

An aspect of learning that I have taken away from the course is how assertive communication is about decision making having an extra ‘tool’ to work with when needed, sometimes it is appropriate to take a passive stance for instance when the situation would provoke an aggressive confrontation, if utilising an assertive technique. The use of assertive communication would allow me to be in control of how I react, rather than other people or situations. As Dallas (2011) argues inner confidence is what affects the way we feel about ourselves, our beliefs, values, core personality, experience and attitude. We need to recognise and reflect upon what prevents us from ‘being truly assertive’ what our own barriers are. It is also important that what we communicate is congruent with our personality and who we are, otherwise it will not feel, look or sound comfortable, and will lead others to doubt our ability as a professional and our honesty as an individual (Dallas, 2011).

From researching assertive communication and culture it was substantiated that different cultures place different meanings to aspects of communication they have their own rules about appropriate behaviour,  if eye contact is held during communication, whether the information is communicated in a direct manner or around the issue; the level of personal space between people whilst in conversation, these are a few examples of differences in behaviour that differ between cultures (Ting-Toomey n.d. cited in Conflict Research Consortium 1998). Whilst on field placement it was explained to myself that the issues surrounding culture and communication diversity are so vast that the best approach was to be respectful and ask the other person what they were comfortable with and to notify you if they felt uncomfortable with how the communication skills were being displayed, admit that as a person you don’t always get it right but with knowledge you can get it wrong less often.

Assertiveness skills are also valuable in feminist social work practice in teaching female clients who have lost control and power over their lives and are being discriminated or oppressed by others, to stand up for their rights without violating the rights of others (Teater 2010). Whilst on field education placement, I assisted in facilitating a workshop teaching young people with challenging behaviours assertive communication skills, due to their level of comprehension and age, we undertook this challenge through the use of ‘drama’. Re-enacting the tale of Cinderella, teaching Cinderella to question her step mothers and sisters authority over the decisions made in her life, to make her voice heard by standing up for her rights and saying no when she wanted. This was an incredibly effective and enjoyable way of teaching these young people this skill. This reiterates the importance of when communicating with clients the necessity of using appropriate language, terminology and communication styles that are suited to their age, and developmental level as well as gender and culture.

References

Dallas, H 2011, ‘Assertiveness is the best form of communication’, Vital, March, pp36-37, online Ebschost Discovery.

Teater, B 2010, An introduction to applying social work theories and methods, Open University Press, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England.

Worklife Matters 2011, Assertive communication six tips for effective use, Worklife matters focus on occupational social work, viewed online 30th March 2012,

http://www.worklife-matters.com/article/assertive-communication-6-tips-for-effective-use