There are several basic principles of communication theory that apply to all financial counseling relationships. Let s look at just a few of them. Communication is a skill that is learned through experience and through imitating available models, such as parents, siblings, and friends. Experience by itself, however, does not necessarily make us effective communicators. Also, some of our models are effective communicators, while some are not.
Language is a learned skill , a program people follow in order to communicate.
As such, language is a useful way of sharing meaning. Language also, however, is sometimes an impediment to communication, when someone else s understanding of a word differs from our own. It is impossible not to communicate. Anything we say or do can be interpreted in a meaningful way as a message. In fact, most of the research on this matter indicates that about two-thirds of a total message is communicated in nonverbal ways.