2. Effective Communication

Principle

Healthcare interpreters manage the social, interpersonal and intercultural dynamics of communication.

Objective

To promote shared understanding of thoughts and ideas and to help participants achieve their communication goals in the interpreted encounter.

Description

Effective communication considers factors like audience, context, and the mode of interpretation to achieve understanding. Effective communication goes beyond simply transmitting information. It involves taking actions with the goal of ensuring that the message is understood.

Standards of Practice

2.1 Maintain transparency in all aspects of our professional practice. 2.2 Monitor communication for understanding and take thoughtful action when probable misunderstandings arise and are not addressed. 2.3 Create conversational space for participants to work through misunderstandings directly, rather than resolving them on their behalf. 2.4 Promote direct communication among the participants in the encounter. 2.5 Manage the pace and flow of communication to avoid omissions and ensure that information is shared in a timely manner with all participants. 2.6 Support participants who speak some of the other participant’s language to speak as much as they can as long as the listener understands them. 2.7 Conduct a pre-session with patients and clinicians based on the context and situation to introduce the interpreter and set clear expectations about the interpreter’s responsibilities, prioritizing information relevant to the participants in that encounter. 2.8 Engage in pre-encounter huddles and post encounter debriefs with clinicians, when possible, to create goal alignment, understand the context and purpose of the encounter, as well as any specific communication needs of participants.