SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP

Effective Communication
with the Elderly
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Effective Communication with the Elderly

It is quite a challenge sometimes to talk or to

communicate to elderly because you may need to
consider and deal with differences in ages, ideals,
priorities and perhaps even hearing or mental cognition
issues on top.
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Don’t close your mind and take it for consideration that

your elderly friend or loved one may have been raised
differently. Generation gap is another issue why it can
be hard to communicate with the elderly but once
understood, you will find many wonderful things to
learn from one another if you just take the time to
listen.
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

When talking to the elderly, look them in the eye. We

all know that looking in the eye when talking to
someone is a sign of respect. That is a general rule and
that has always been and forever will be. An honest
person will never be afraid to look you in the eye and it
is also a sign of a genuine interest in the person you are
conversing with.
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Do not use or maybe you could turn off you mobile

devices, more often than not they do not understand
these things and they will feel destructed by it and
worse will feel like they are playing second fiddle to a
piece of equipment that can lead to them to shut down
and lose interest in talking to you.
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Always be respectful, this applies to everyone. You

might confuse this with being sweet and
condescending but these two are different from
respect. Listen to them, or maybe if fitting you can
place your hand on their hand or arm. Remember, they
are your elderly and not your children so never call them
names like, ‘sweetie’, ‘honey’, or ‘darling’, that will be
rude!
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Never ever shout at them, if they have troubles hearing

you or the surrounding get them hearing aide. They may
pull away from communicating with anyone and even
become bitter if this is taken for granted. And they may
not admit this so it is up to you to notice if they cannot
hear properly anymore or have them checked regularly.
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Never make them feel that being there for them is a duty for
you, make time for them and understand if they are feeling
lonely. You must make them feel that you truly care and you
really want to be there for them. Make the conversation and
the whole time enjoyable. Ask questions and make them feel
that you are interested, maybe their past lives and stories
when they are younger and their husbands or wives. Talk
about happy memories. You will find yourself learning a lot
from them.
 SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP
Effective Communication with the Elderly

Ask them advice; this will make them feel they still have
worth because they may be feeling worthless by this
age of time. Remember to input into things and be
genuine about it, maybe you can word it like “I really
need your advice” vs “I wanted to ask your advice” can
make a big mental difference for ANYONE.

SPRINGHILL CARE GROUP

Springhill Care Group