General Communication Tips
Communication is an important element to daily life, especially to someone who is hard of hearing. A hearing loss not only affects the person suffering from the problem, rather their friends and loved ones, as well. These are helpful tips are to make communication flow smoothly.
- 1. Choose a quiet environment: Avoid communicating where there is a lot of noise or visual activity, if there is a TV or radio in the room consider turning it off. Popular coffee bars and theme restaurants often play loud music over their speakers making conversation difficult. Try to find a quiet corner or sit away from speakers.
- 2. Avoid standing in front of light source when speaking: Bright light behind you casts your face in shadow making it difficult to see facial expressions that often cue a listener regarding your tone, mood, and emphasis.
- 3. Allow the person with hearing loss to choose their seat: People with hearing loss have discovered placements that work well for them, give them the opportunity to select that place in your group.
- 4. Make sure you have the person's attention before speaking: Lightly touching the person's arm, saying their name, or a subtle wave of your hand are acceptable.
- 5. Stand a normal distance from the person, you do not need to be very close and should not be across the room.
- 6. Do not cover your mouth when you are speaking.
- 7. Do not have anything in your mouth while speaking such as gum or mints.
- 8. Look directly at the person you are speaking to and maintain eye contact.
- 9. Ask the person if there is anything you can do to help make communication easier.
- 10. When you change the topic of discussion, make sure the person is aware. Context is key to understanding.
- 11. Speak clearly and at a normal pace. If you tend to speak quickly, slow down. It is not necessary to exaggerate your words or speak slower than normal. Enunciate your words, do not trail off a sentence.
- 12. Use an open-ended question to check and see if everyone is understanding your discussion. If someone does not respond, modify your speaking to improve understanding.
- 13. Repeat information that is not understood then re-phrase it, sometimes people with hearing loss have difficulty with certain speech sounds. Re-phrasing information can assist in understanding.
- 14. Do not shout. Shouting actually distorts speech making understanding even more difficult. In addition to creating the impression you are angry, it can be embarrassing and deeming to the listener.
- 15. Use gestures, facial expressions and body language to assist with communication. These do not need to be exaggerated; natural smiling, questioning looks, and hand movements help place words in context.
- 16. Be patient and take time to communicate. Saying "never mind" or "it's not important" makes the other person feel unimportant.
Communication Tips for Everyone!
Effective communication requires the participation of everyone involved. When one of the individuals has a hearing loss, everyone can perform a few simple steps to help communication flow smoothly. People with hearing loss often use visual clues in addition to their hearing when listening. All of the tips below are easy, they may require conscious effort at first but will become second nature quickly.
