Interpersonal Skills Definitions Wolfelt all interpersonal relationships

Interpersonal Skills

Definitions Wolfelt: “all interpersonal relationships are either helpful, neutral, or harmful” ¢ Johnson: “interpersonal skills are the sum total of your ability to interact effectively with other people” ¢

Agree or Disagree? ¢ Wolfelt: “unless families receive consistently outstanding service right now, funeral service as we know it will not exist in thirty years”

Interpersonal Skills Within Funeral Service ¢ Wolfelt: “the public’s perception of anyone who is connected with the funeral home will be the very perception of the funeral home as a whole” ¢ Agree or disagree?

Wolfelt’s Characteristics of the Helping Funeral Director ¢ 1) empathy ¢ 2) respect ¢ 3) warmth and caring ¢ 4) genuineness

Helping Skills ¢ Attending/Listening: “giving undivided attention by means of verbal and nonverbal behavior What are some barriers to listening skills?

Helping Skills (cont’d) ¢ Paraphrasing: “expressing a thought or idea in an alternate and sometimes a shortened form”

Paraphrasing Exercise Break into groups of 3. ¢ 1 person talks free for 3 minutes ¢ 2 nd person will paraphrase what was said ¢ 3 rd person will observe, keep time, and provide feedback Each person must rotate through all of these roles. ¢

Helping Skills (cont’d) ¢ Clarifying: “the process of bring vague content in the interaction into clearer focus or understanding” (Wolfelt)

Helping Skills (cont’d) ¢ Perception Checking: “asking the person for verification of your understanding…. . asking for feedback about the accuracy of your listening” (Wolfelt)

Helping Skills (cont’d) Leading: “anticipating where the person is going and responding with an appropriately encouraging remark” (Wolfelt) ¢ 2 types of leading: indirect and direct ¢

Helping Skills (cont’d) Questioning: “a method of gaining information and increasing understanding” (Canine) ¢ 2 purposes: ¢ 1) to obtain specific information l 2) to direct the person’s interaction with you into more helpful areas Open-ended questions are preferable in most situations. l

Open-ended Questions allow the person to tell more about what he/she might be thinking or feeling ¢ help the person better understand ¢ focus on the feelings of the person ¢

Helping Skills (cont’d) ¢ Reflecting Feelings: “expressing in fresh words the essential feelings stated or strongly implied of the person” How is this helpful to the funeral director?

Helping Skills (cont’d) ¢ Informing: “sharing of facts possessed by the funeral director” (Wolfelt) providing information that will allow the person to make an informed decision l information must be usable to the person receiving it l

“Informing” Exercise Break into groups of 3. ¢ 1 person will assume the role of FD ¢ 2 nd person will be the client ¢ 3 rd person will observe *Each person must rotate through the roles. FD must address the following questions: Why do I have to buy a vault? Does my mother have to be embalmed? ¢

Helping Skills (cont’d) ¢ Summarizing: “a method of tying together several ideas and feelings at the end of a period of discussion or the arrangement conference” (Wolfelt) How can this be helpful to the FD?