Chapter 3 - Communication

Fundamentals of Communication

What are 2 important parts of a correctional officer’s duties in regards to communication?

The communication with and the management of diverse correctional facility populations.

What are the 7 skills that correctional officers can utilize when communicating with and managing diverse correctional facility populations?

Interpersonal communication, verbal communication, non-verbal communication, situational awareness, verbal commands, commanding presence, and having courtesy.

Which 3 things are correctional officers able to do if they possess the 7 skills of communication?

Demonstrate professionalism, create effective interpersonal relationships, and reduce tension.

What is communication?

The exchange of verbal and non-verbal messages.

What are the 6 methods of communication?

Spoken language, written language, gestures, facial expressions, active listening, and body movement.

What must the speaker do in order for communication to occur?

The speaker must send their message in a way that the listener will understand.

How can the listener show that they understand the message(s) being communicated?

The listener can show that they understand by responding to the speaker.

Why is it necessary to master the basic skills of effective communication?

Mastering the basic skills of effective communication helps officers navigate their daily job tasks.

In addition to talking and listening, what else is involved in mastering the basic skills of effective communication?

Understanding the emotion and intention behind the information exchanged.

Which 2 things should correctional officers be able to do while also ensuring the other person feels heard and understood?

Correctional officers should be able to clearly convey a message and listen to the meaning of what is being said.

Identify 2 of the 4 guidelines that need to be followed in order to plan your interactions?

Consider what you want to say by constructing the message in your head, and allow time for the person or group to receive and understand the message.

What is professionalism?

Behavior that demonstrates good character and is marked by pride in yourself and your career.

What are the 12 Characteristics of a professional?

Service, integrity, respect, quality, fairness, honesty, courage, compassion, moral leadership, ethical leadership, trustworthiness, and common sense.

Identify 2 examples of professionalism?

Maintaining a calm presence and being courteous.

Why must correctional officers be mindful of their attitudes while also ensuring that their attitudes support the professional behavior expected of them on and off duty?

Correctional officers represent their agencies while both in and out of uniform.

What shapes your expectations of what will happen in any given situation, and affects how people perceive you?

Attitude

Which 2 characteristics must define an officer’s attitude in order for that officer to be a valuable member of society and corrections?

An officer with a professional and positive attitude is a valuable member of society and corrections.

What is courtesy?

Being respectful when interacting with others and treating them in a dignified manner, regardless of their status, race, gender, appearance or behavior.

What would likely develop if an officer routinely addresses inmates with contempt or disregard?

Hostile relationships

What would likely develop if an officer expresses professionalism and respect for others on a routinely basis?

Respectful and professional relationships.

What may help correctional officers avoid or de-escalate potentially violent situations?

Maintaining professional and courteous relationships.

What is active listening?

Giving full attention to what is being said and taking the time to understand the message without interrupting.

Which 2 things should never obscure an officer’s ability to listen?

Personal judgement and bias.

What requires a great deal of practice and is essential for effective communication?

Good listening skills.

Identify 3 of the 6 elements of active listening.

Maintaining eye contact while facing the speaker, asking questions for clarification or more information, and keeping an open mind while avoiding bias to hear all of the facts.

Why is it important for officer’s to be able to familiarize themselves with inmate behavioral patterns as well as recognize subtle, atypical differences that may occur in how inmate’s communicate?

The familiarization and awareness of the subtle differences and behavioral patterns of inmates may help officers anticipate ways to prevent or manage conflictual situations.

What is a communicative skill that can help an inmate release frustration?

Active Listening

What is an ability that a correctional officer must possess that is critical to officer safety?

The ability to listen carefully.

What is the difference between Empathy and Sympathy?

Empathy is the ability to connect with someone by caring about and understanding their emotions, whereas sympathy is the act of feeling those emotions yourself.

What is Empathy?

The ability to understand and care about the emotions of others.

Which 2 things are thought about when displaying empathy for someone?

When you are empathetic, you think about how the person must be feeling and how you would feel in that same situation.

What engages emotions and manifests the potential for an officers actions to cause their authority to be compromised?

Sympathy

What are the 3 behavioral characteristics of an empathetic thinker?

Listening to others, treating others with respect and fairness, and being able to understand what is going on with them.

Which skill can be utilized in stressful or volatile encounters, and can mean the difference between violent situational escalation or keeping everyone safe and secure?

Empathy

What is trauma?

An event or ongoing experience that is emotionally or physically damaging to a person and overwhelms the persons ability to cope.

What can cause individuals to stay in ‘stress response mode’?

Traumatic events.

When might a person perceive various events and routines as threatening—such as loud voices, strip searches, and banging doors—and react as if the threat is present?

When in a heightened state of stress.

Identify 6 types of trauma related causes.

Childhood abuse, physical or sexual assault, domestic abuse, natural or man-made disasters, and the death or loss of a family member.

What are the 4 major emotions that can be commonly present in trauma survivors?

Anger, guilt, fear, and depression.

Which 2 things can have a profound impact on a person’s daily life and how they react to others?

Violence and trauma

Being in a correctional setting could further exacerbate 6 trauma related symptoms. What are they?

Avoidance, heightened startle responses, intense irritability resulting in angry outbursts, behavioral aggressiveness, severe emotional distress, and physical reactions to things that remind them of the trauam.

Which 2 things are true about an inmate’s history of trauma?

A history of trauma is not the cause of all behavioral issues and it’s not an excuse for inmates to engage in dangerous or disruptive behaviors.

What can help correctional officers communicate and problem solve more efficiently with inmates?

Understanding the impact that trauma can have on one’s ability to react to stress.

Identify 3 of the 5 things that officer’s must keep in mind when communicating:

Being mindful of noise levels, asserting authority without resorting to shouting or yelling, and practicing patience and active listening.

What should officer’s do when interacting with inmates of the opposite sex?

Officers should take extra precautions in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

What is impropriety?

Behavior or actions that are inappropriate, unethical, or not in accordance with accepted standards.

What should officers do when interacting with inmates of the same sex?

Officers should exercise caution in order to avoid potential misunderstandings or allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Which 2 things can prevent manipulation?

Keeping conversations as neutral as possible, and avoiding non-work related personal conversations.

What helps officers communicate with others more effectively?

Understanding diverse populations.

What is an example of a perceptually misrecognized cognitive behavior that can damage an officers professional reputation?

The perception of favoritism.

What is culture?

The customary beliefs, social norms, and the significant traits prevalent in a group of people or particular place.

What is intercultural communication?

Occurs when people from different cultures communicate.

There are 4 types of communication that ’intercultural’ can refer to in intercultural communication. What are they?

Interethnic communication, interreligious communication, interregional communication, or communication between genders.

Which 2 things can poorly executed intercultural communication lead to?

Miscommunication and division between officers and inmates.

What does it mean to be 'culturally responsive’?

Cultural responsivity takes place when you are open to learning about new cultures, respectful of cultural differences, and able to recognize the important role that culture plays in a person’s life.

What are the 2 other ways that people are able to communicate asides from using their voice?

Body language and facial expressions.

Why must correctional officers be mindful of how they communicate?

Correctional officers must be mindful of how they communicate because it can be the difference between a peaceful resolution and an escalating incident.

What expands upon an officer's ability to communicate and choose responses appropriately?

Enhancing their understanding of verbal and non-verbal cues.

What is verbal communication?

Verbal communication is what someone says with their words using voice and tone.

Which 3 questions must officer’s ask themselves when paying attention to verbal cues?

1. What is the tone, volume, and pitch of the speakers voice?

2. Does the tone of the voice indicate sarcasm, confidence, compassion, anger, or another emotion?

3. What words are used, and how are they spoken?

What is non-verbal communication?

Any message or signal sent from one person to another without the explicit use of language.

Which type of communication directly relates to how a person carries themself while communicating?

Non-verbal communication

What are the 5 types of non-verbal functions that can be assessed and observed from both inmates and fellow officers alike?

Posture, body movement, facial expressions, eye contact, and smell.

What is posture, and what does it refer to?

Posture refers to the way a person sits, walks, and stands.

What is body movement?

Body movement refers to the physical manipulation of ones body to communicate their attitude or emotional state.

Which 2 things could the common behaviors expressed in a persons body movement indicate?

The common behaviors of body movement could indicate if a person is nervous and trying to self-soothe, or they could indicate a fight-or-flight response.

How are people able to express emotions without saying a word?

Facial Expressions

Which 6 facial expressions are universal across most cultures?

Sorrow, joy, surprise, rage, disgust, and terror.

What should the listener do when communicating with others?

Listen attentively and observe the speakers facial expressions.

Identify 2 of the 5 facial expressions to look for to determine someone’s true feelings and emotions.

Excessive or no blinking, and biting one’s lip or touching one’s nose.

What enhances your ability to communicate effectively?

Possessing the ability to establish, maintain, and understand eye contact.

What are 5 factors that can influence eye contact?

Personality, cultural background, nervous tension, medical condition, and a person’s emotional state.

What is objectively true regarding smell as it pertains to it being a communicatively non-verbal cue?

Avoid making false judgements about people that you interact with; especially since one’s expectations of personal hygiene is subjective due to the plethora of medical conditions or dietary restrictions a person could have.

What is the general rule of evaluating verbal and non-verbal behaviors?

Evaluate verbal and non-verbal behavior within the entire context of what is going on while taking cultural factors into consideration.

Why is all communication subject to misinterpretation?

People may react differently in stressful situations.

What are 2 non-verbal techniques that officers can use to communicate to inmates?

Positioning and posture.

What is command presence?

Command presence is body language that projects confidence, poise, and professionalism.

Which 5 things should an officer do when approaching an inmate?

Keep themself at a safe distance while staying close enough to see and hear, face the inmate while maintaining eye contact, stand upright, eliminate distracting behaviors, and lean slightly forward.

Which Two things does command presence include as it pertains to hygiene and appearance?

Personal grooming and maintaining a clean, neat uniform.

What is a verbal command?

A spoken command that is used to direct, influence, or give orders to a person or group.

What makes for effective and successful communication between officers, inmates, and others?

The ability to immediately recognize and address the actual and potential barriers that affect communication.

Identify 5 of the 11 barriers that may result in miscommunication

Stereotyping, tone of voice, use of jargon, negative attitude, and failure to actively listen.

Identify 2 of the 6 steps that you can take to prevent common barriers to communication:

Treating everyone with respect and allowing the person to give their side of the story.

Which type of skills must a correctional officer possess in order to mediate conflicts between people, that play a vital part in temporarily or permanently resolving a conflict before it can escalate?

Conflict resolution skills

What is a direct consequence of proper conflict management?

Properly managing conflict creates an opportunity for the people involved to be more open to a resolution and can lead to better awareness and understanding between people.

Identify 3 of the 9 ways that conflicts can arise in a correctional facility.

Work assignments, interpersonal conflicts, and meals.

Identify 3 of the 6 things that officers should do in order to manage conflicts effectively.

Employ active listening, understand human and cultural diversity, and practice self control.

Identify 2 of the 7 ways that officers may defuse a situation by way of conflict management.

Tell the people involved why you are or are not taking action, and if possible, help mediate a compromise.

What should officers be able to determine in conflicts?

Officers should be able to determine if the conflict can be resolved or only managed.

What must an officer know in order to manage the conflict and bring it to an appropriate conclusion?

An officer should know the resources available in order to manage the conflict and bring it to an appropriate conclusion.

Which 2 things should an officer never do when resolving conflicts?

Officers should never make concessions or promises that they cannot keep.

What should be the main goal of conflict resolution?

Establishing order by guiding the people involved in the dispute toward a peaceful end.

What is de-escalation?

Reducing the intensity of a situation through the combined use of communication, active listening, and empathy.

What is one important component of de-escalation?

Slowing down a situation before it can spiral out of control.

What is the goal of de-escalation?

To obtain compliance without using force or by using the minimum force necessary.

What are 5 common de-escalation techniques?

Calling for additional personnel, re-deploying resources, strong verbal commands, using a show of force, and using actual physical force.

What is the main purpose of using de-escalation techniques?

To bring a volatile situation under control so that other techniques, such as mediation and arbitration, can take place.

How does de-escalation play an important role in liability and provide better legal protection for officers and their facilities?

De-escalation allows compliance to be gained without using force which, in return, reduces excessive force complaints.

Why is it important for correctional officers to know the limits of their skills, the law, and their authority while appropriately applying that knowledge to any situation?

Because not all conflicts can be brought to peaceful conclusions, officers may need to take enforcement action against inmates.

What are 2 examples of enforcement action that an officer can enact on an inmate?

Reclassifying an inmate, and putting an inmate in confinement.