Verbal Communication Skills
Why Verbal Communication Is a Skill
Talking seems natural, but in a health or social care setting it requires deliberate thought. A verbal communication skill is not just the ability to speak — it is the ability to speak in the right way, at the right moment, in a way the service user can understand and feel reassured by. Getting this wrong has real consequences: a service user who feels confused, patronised or unheard is less likely to disclose important information about their health, follow guidance or feel safe in the setting.
Rosa is a health care assistant on a 28-bed NHS hospital ward for older adults. She supports a range of patients: Mr Osei, a 79-year-old man with mild hearing loss who has been told he needs a minor operation; Caitlin, a 16-year-old who has been admitted with an eating disorder; and Mrs Kapoor, an 84-year-old woman whose first language is Gujarati and who has limited English. Rosa adapts how she speaks with each of them — and this lesson explains exactly how and why.
Adapting to the Needs of the Service User
The starting principle is always the service user, not the practitioner. The spec requires practitioners to adapt their type and method of communicating to meet the needs of the service user or the situation. This is the foundation on which all the other verbal skills rest. With Mr Osei, Rosa faces slightly toward him, speaks a little more slowly and checks he has understood. With Caitlin, she uses a quieter, more conversational tone — clinical, formal language could feel dehumanising. With Mrs Kapoor, she uses short sentences, pauses between ideas and checks understanding frequently.
The eight verbal communication skills in the spec are: adapting type/method to needs; clarity; empathy; patience; using appropriate vocabulary; tone; volume; pace. All eight can be adapted by the practitioner. A ninth element — willingness to contribute to team working — extends verbal communication to the professional team, not just service users.
Clarity, Tone, Volume and Pace
Clarity means the service user understands what is being communicated. With Mr Osei, Rosa avoids medical jargon — she says “a small cut under local anaesthetic, so you won't feel pain but you'll be awake” rather than “a minor surgical incision under local anaesthesia.” Clarity matters across all settings: a GP explaining a prescription, a pharmacist advising on dosage, a key worker at a homeless shelter explaining the house rules. Without clarity, service users may make decisions based on misunderstanding.
Tone, volume and pace work together. Rosa raises her volume slightly for Mr Osei but does not shout — shouting can feel disrespectful and distort how the words sound for someone with hearing loss. She slows her pace when giving him important information, allowing him time to process each sentence before the next. With Caitlin she drops her tone to something warmer and quieter, signalling that this is a safe space. Pace matters here too — rushing through a conversation with a young person in crisis communicates that their concerns are not important.
Empathy and Patience
Empathy in verbal communication means more than feeling sorry for someone — it means communicating that you understand their experience from their point of view. When Rosa says to Caitlin, “It sounds like this has been really difficult, and it takes courage to talk about it,” she is not solving a problem; she is acknowledging Caitlin's experience in Caitlin's terms. This kind of verbal empathy encourages service users to open up, share more and engage with their care.
Patience often sits alongside empathy. Mrs Kapoor needs more time to find words in English. A practitioner who finishes her sentences or talks over her sends a silent message that her pace is inconvenient — and she will stop trying to communicate. Rosa waits, nods encouragingly and uses short, clear prompts: “Take your time.” This signals respect, upholds dignity, and means Rosa is more likely to receive accurate information about Mrs Kapoor's symptoms.
Appropriate Vocabulary
Using appropriate vocabulary means matching word choice to the service user. This includes avoiding jargon: terms that are routine to healthcare workers (such as “PRN medication”, “triage”, “systolic pressure”) can be baffling or frightening to someone who has never been in a hospital. It also means avoiding language that is patronising or childish for an adult — talking down to a service user disrespects their dignity and autonomy. With children in an early-years setting, appropriate vocabulary means using simpler sentences with familiar words, at the child's level, without talking about them as if they were not present.
Students sometimes assume that “adapting communication” always means simplifying language. This is not always true. Some service users have professional backgrounds and will feel condescended to if a practitioner oversimplifies everything. Adaptation means meeting the service user where they are — which might mean using more technical language with a retired nurse than with a teenager. The key question is always: “Does this person understand me, and do they feel respected by how I am speaking to them?”
Team Working and Willingness to Contribute
Verbal communication is not only between practitioner and service user — it also includes how staff communicate with each other. Willingness to contribute to team working means speaking up in handover meetings, sharing concerns about a service user, flagging changes in condition and contributing to care plan discussions. A care worker who observes that Mrs Kapoor seems more confused than usual but says nothing at handover has failed a verbal communication responsibility. Good team communication means service users receive consistent, coordinated care even when different practitioners are on shift.
Good verbal communication benefits the service user directly: it ensures they are well-informed, feel valued and respected, are reassured and feel safe, and can express their needs accurately. Poor verbal communication risks misunderstanding, errors in care, and distress — all of which the spec links explicitly to negative outcomes for service users.
When a practitioner uses verbal communication skills effectively, the service user: understands their care and treatment; feels respected, valued and reassured; trusts the practitioner; is more likely to follow guidance accurately; and is empowered to express their own needs. For the practitioner, clear communication supports person-centred values (particularly dignity, respect and empowerment), reduces the risk of errors, and strengthens the therapeutic relationship. At a team level, willingness to contribute to communication means consistent care, shared good practice and a safer setting for everyone.