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 “Empathy” (Cust. Service A-Z) ¢ 1) empathy ¢ ¢ 2) respect ¢ 3) warmth and caring ¢ 4) genuineness

Helping Skills Canine page 260 ¢ Attending/Listening: “giving undivided attention by means of verbal and nonverbal behavior ¢ Barriers to listening skills: Canine page 257 – 259 ¢ Winning Ways: page 126 ¢

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

Helping Skills (cont’d) Clarifying: “the process of bring vague content in the interaction into clearer focus or understanding” (Wolfelt) ¢ 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) Canine page 261 ¢ 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 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 ¢ ¢ Open-ended questions are preferable in most situations.

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 2. 1 person will assume the role of FD 2 nd person will be the client *Each person will have a turn at both 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?