Core Competencies: Communication Skills

Building Blocks to Peer Success

The training modules listed below cover the key skills peers need to interact with clients: the non-clinical “counseling” skills, including listening, verbal and non-verbal communication, talking about difficult subjects, communicating with health care providers, and responding to conflict, and culture. The key to teaching these skills is practice, practice, practice. Nearly all of the case studies and scenarios are designed to facilitate practice or can be adapted to this task.

Communication Skills

Communication Skills
Introduction to Communication Skills
Active Listening: The Telephone Game
Attentive Listening
Listening to Others
Barriers to Learning: A Group Activity
Motivation to Learn
Meeting Diverse Barriers to Learning
Back-to-Back Drawings
One- and Two-Way Communication
Communication: Pushing All the Buttons
Communication Skills: Asking Tough Questions
Communication Skills: Questioning
Communication Techniques: Expressing Yourself
Nonverbal Communication
Responding to Conflict: What Do We Do?
Verbal Communication
Counseling Exercise
Advocating With Providers
Communicating Effectively with Providers
Communicating Health Information
Communication About Risks and Safer Sex
Taking Charge: Working with Your Doctor
Culture and Cultural Competence
Delivering Culturally Competent Health Care

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