Being up front and communicating clearly with participants, providers and mainstream services can help to reduce wasted time and improve workload – but it’s not always easy. What are your tips for asking for what you need, and having frank and honest conversations – even when it’s difficult?
KR – I only deal with people who align with our values. I am upfront and forthright. No beating around the bush.
RA – Empathy – I find that when I am able to relate to how a particular issue or situation is affecting a participant, I am able to more effectively help them through it.
You also need to be strong and sometimes a little ‘forceful’, but without taking away any choice and control.
It is important to ensure that a participant feels supported and understood, and also that they have full control over their decisions – but if you are able to get them on board with an idea and for them to think that it was their idea, this can have a big impact on making changes. Starting small and working to more tricky conversations as well.
I also ALWAYS ensure that I have consent to speak with other stakeholders, and I engage with them early. I ensure that any new providers have consent sorted right from the start as well.
ZD – I am always respectful of all people, but I am also naturally upfront and honest. If the situation is more difficult, then it just means a longer conversation or more time to explain certain information so that everyone understands clearly. Be polite!
KW – I like to bookend challenging calls with a positive, negative, positive… Start the call with some insight that this may be a challenging conversation, but one that needs to be had.
I ensure I am always expressing ‘I know this may not be what you to want hear but…’, ‘I am here to help you through this, however we do need to discuss…’, or ‘This may be upsetting, however it is important to share with you so we can overcome…’.
SM – Explaining straight from the start that I am transparent with my communication and making sure that even when I have those difficult conversations, that it is done with an element of empathy.
VS – I am naturally an open and frank communicator, so this comes easily to me. I treat everyone the same and will call before sending an email to explain the situation clearly to avoid confusion and push back.
SH – This comes down to engaging participants and their families with every aspect of the implementation of their plan from the very first interaction. Face-to-face meetings with the participant and their family is integral with this process.
Building trust between yourself and the participant by providing exceptional providers and services is paramount. I build a team of service providers that meet the participant’s needs, and I have quarterly stakeholder meetings to ensure all of them are on the same page. I constantly review service providers and their services – if they do not meet the standard, I act quickly by communicating with them and reset the expectations. Once this is established, then ‘hard’ conversations can be had.
I seek the participant’s feedback at every stage of their journey. This ensures I am working at their pace.
AT – I’m very direct with those conversations. Obviously, it depends on the participant as to how direct I can be.
My tips include making sure you listen to the participant you’re working with, and that you reiterate their concerns to show that you’ve heard them, then explain through conversation how this can be done and provide a solution – depending on what the conversation is based on of course.
Another tip, aside from active listening, is tone of voice and words used when communicating with the participant. Be extremely mindful of what you say and how you say it, body language is a dead giveaway to help in communicating with the participant.
EH – The only answer for this is to be frank and honest with all communication – this is part of setting the expectation from the start. Remember, not everyone is going to like your answers, you are there as a support coordinator to assist the person on their NDIS journey and you are also there to help them stick to the rules.
During my journey as a support coordinator, the times I have struggled with communication have usually been due to either miscommunication or because something was left unsaid.
So much of what support coordinators do can easily cross what people would like to share of their private situation. Building a trusting relationship with each client means that asking the question, while uncomfortable, is more likely to achieve a positive outcome, rather than not discussing the situation at all. A moment of discomfort can fix so many problems.
(DB) – Whilst it can seem hard at first, having frank and honest conversations with our participants is ultimately about showing respect for them. Our participants have been through hard things in their lives, living with a disability, accessing the NDIS, these are not easy things. Our participants are strong, courageous and resilient. It is important to remember this and never patronise or withhold the full truth of what we feel we can and can’t offer.
Whilst it can seem hard, the reality is our community requires and really appreciates honestly. When you can be upfront and then offer the person the respect of sitting with them in their distress, rather than trying to hide the truth or ‘fix’ the situation, it is a powerful way of building trust and connection. It also offers our participants the respect that they can and will get through difficult things, as they have done in the past.
