Verbal Communication Research Articles

Effect of nurse’s verbal communication on the level of consciousness, pain, and agitation in anesthetized patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a double-blind clinical trial

BackgroundVarious sensory stimuli, including verbal communication, can influence patients' consciousness level, pain perception, and agitation in intensive care units (ICU). This study aimed to explore the impact of verbal communication on the consciousness level, pain, and agitation of anesthetized patients admitted to ICU.MethodsIn this randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), participants were randomly assigned to two groups: an intervention group (n = 35) and a control group (n = 35). Patients in the intervention group received verbal communication twice a day for 10 days, while the control group received routine care. The level of consciousness, pain, and agitation of patients in both groups were assessed before and 15 min after verbal communication. Demographic questionnaires and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Behavior Pain Scale and Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS 25 using t-test, Chi-square and repeated measures ANCOVA test.ResultsNo significant differences were found between the two groups (verbal communication and control) concerning demographic variables (p > 0.05). Before the intervention, no significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of pain (P = 0.17). However, significant differences were noted in agitation and the level of consciousness (P < 0.05). Comparing the 10-day intervention period, a significant difference in the variables of level of consciousness, pain, and agitation was observed between the verbal communication and control groups (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe findings of this study indicate that verbal communication had a positive impact on the level of consciousness, pain, and agitation of anesthetized patients in ICUs. Implementing verbal communication as an intervention by nurses can be an effective approach in medical centers.Ethical codeIR.RUMS.REC.1398.189.Clinical trial registration codeIRCT20150519022320N22; 8/05/2020.

ANALISIS KETERAMPILAN SOSIAL PUSTAKAWAN DI UPT PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS LANCANG KUNING

Social skills are an individual's ability to interact effectively with others in various social situations. These skills encompass how a person communicates, understands, and responds to their needs, emotions, and actions of others in a positive and constructive manner. The purpose of this study was to determine the social skills of librarians at the Library Service Unit of Lancang Kuning University. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method, with the subjects were librarians and library users at the UPT of Lancang Kuning University. The result show that librarians already have good social skills as seen from how librarians respond to librarians who enter wihout following the rules in the library, such as carriying bags into the circulation room, noisy visitors, visitors who bring food and drinks, and users who repeatedly committing mistakes. Furthermore, librarians are willing to listen to users even while engaged in other tasks, addressing their complaints, and understanding their needs. Friendly attitude facilitates effective communication between librarians and the users. Additionally, librarians were capable of delivering verbal statements, such as setting boundaries and actively listening, as well as employing non verbal communication, including facial expressions, hand gestures, vocal intonation, and a professional appearance, to create responsive and communicative interactions.

A Weighted Facial Expression Analysis for Pain Level Estimation

Accurate assessment of pain intensity is critical, particularly for patients who are unable to verbally express their discomfort. This study proposes a novel weighted analytical framework that integrates facial expression analysis through action units (AUs) with a facial feature-based weighting mechanism to enhance the estimation of pain intensity. The proposed method was evaluated on a dataset comprising 4084 facial images from 25 individuals and demonstrated an average accuracy of 92.72% using the weighted pain level estimation model, in contrast to 83.37% achieved using conventional approaches. The observed improvements are primarily attributed to the strategic utilization of AU zones and expression-based weighting, which enable more precise differentiation between pain-related and non-pain-related facial movements. These findings underscore the efficacy of the proposed model in enhancing the accuracy and reliability of automated pain detection, especially in contexts where verbal communication is impaired or absent.

The Importance of Effective Communication in Improving the Quality of Classroom Learning Interactions between Teachers and Students

This study aims to identify effective communication strategies for enhancing student engagement in collaborative learning. Collaborative learning is an educational approach that emphasizes interaction among students to achieve shared academic goals. However, student engagement in this model is often influenced by various factors, particularly the communication methods employed by educators. This research analyzes a range of communication strategies that promote active student participation, including verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as the use of digital technologies that support group interaction. A qualitative research method was adopted, using case studies from several schools that implement collaborative learning. The findings indicate that transparent and inclusive communication, combined with constructive feedback, significantly boosts student motivation and engagement. Furthermore, the integration of technology as a communication support tool has been shown to enhance student interaction and facilitate collaboration in completing group tasks. This study contributes to the development of more effective communication approaches for collaboration-based instruction by deepening the understanding of learning concepts, refining communication strategies, and fostering an inclusive and interactive classroom environment.

When words are not enough: How creative storytelling helped me navigate trauma

AbstractTraumatic experiences trigger a constellation of psychological and emotional symptoms. Therapeutic interventions have been developed to support people in understanding and overcoming these symptoms. However, many approaches have a strong reliance on language. This can be problematic as traumatic experiences create significant barriers to the brain's ability to translate experiences into words. Many victims of trauma experience a phenomenon known as ‘speechless terror’—the inability to access language after trauma because of the extreme fear brought on by the event/series of events. This creates a challenge; how can someone benefit from an intervention that relies on verbal or written expression if trauma has made it difficult (or impossible) for them to translate their experiences into words? While both written and verbal communication can support individuals in recovering from trauma, sometimes words are not enough. And when words are not enough, the visual arts can serve as an alternative language that allows for open, non‐verbal exploration of memories and emotions. As a survivor of trauma, I have used both verbal and non‐verbal methods in my own journey toward trauma healing. Words are an essential tool in my verbal processing of trauma. But sometimes words are not enough. And when words are not enough, creative expression in the form of mixed media visual art has provided me with an alternative language to navigate my own speechless terror. In my creative use of verbal and non‐verbal forms of expression, I experienced an increased sense of self‐understanding. This article explores (1) the limitations of language in processing trauma, (2) the potential for creative approaches to serve as an antidote to speechless terror, and (3) my personal use of both written narratives and visual artwork to navigate my own traumatic experiences.

"She helped from the first minute to the last" - Experiences of respectful maternal and newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nampula Province, Mozambique.

Pandemic-related health service adaptations raised concerns about provision of quality, respectful maternity care globally. Despite this, little research has focused on the experiences of those using intrapartum care during this time. This study aimed to elevate the voices and document the experiences of birthing people in Nacala-Porto and Erati districts of Nampula Province, Mozambique during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal qualitative study from March-August 2021 and present an analysis of the 17 follow-up in-depth interviews conducted with participants who had a vaginal live birth. Interviews explored participants' experience of labor and delivery care. They were conducted in Makua and Portuguese, audio-recorded, transcribed and translated. We applied thematic content analysis. Overall, participants did not express major concerns about COVID-19 or related service adaptations when describing their experiences of intrapartum care. Some noted its negative effects on elements of respectful care such as restricting birth companions. Overcrowding became more concerning due to the threat of infection. While unclear if affected by the pandemic, all participants who gave birth at a health facility reported experiencing at least one form of mistreatment, some recounting threats of cesarean delivery. Most explained that they and their newborns received care without their consent, especially regarding enemas and episiotomies. At the same time, respondents described a range of intrapartum experiences that included both respectful and disrespectful care. Most recalled positive verbal communication with their providers and many described receiving continuous attentive care. Participants explained that their satisfaction with childbirth services was tied to their birth outcome and their experience of respectful care. The findings indicate that steadfast commitments to quality care are critical to ensure families benefit from high-quality, respectful care at all times. The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic were limited but nonetheless signal a need for tighter connections between maternal health and emergency preparedness stakeholders.

Penguatan Public Speaking untuk Meningkatkan Profesionalisme dan Kapasitas Komunikasi Karyawan PT Spill Indonesia

Public speaking is a critical skill for employees across various professional fields, especially in work environments that demand effective and representative communication. In today’s dynamic workplace, public speaking is not only essential for conveying information but also for building trust, persuading audiences, and reinforcing corporate image. However, many employees still lack access to formal opportunities for developing this skill. This community engagement program aimed to enhance the public speaking competence of employees at PT SPILL Indonesia through an interactive and practical training module. The training methods included interactive lectures, role-play simulations, group discussions, and direct speaking practice. Participants were guided to understand verbal and non-verbal communication techniques, manage anxiety, and develop structured and engaging presentations. The results indicated a significant improvement in participants’ understanding of public speaking principles, narrative construction, and confidence in public speaking. High levels of enthusiasm throughout the training reflected a strong demand for communication skill development in the workplace. This program demonstrates that a participatory and contextual training approach can serve as an effective strategy to enhance professional communication capacity within corporate environments.

STEM-SDGs Integration to Improve Scientific Communication Skills in Junior High School Science Learning

Scientific communication is defined as verbal communication that is related to investigation. Science learning has an important part in the scientific communication skills that learners must have, which involves a scientific approach whose stages include observing, questioning, collecting data, evaluating data, and expressing conclusions. Scientific communication has an important role to be mastered by learners to succeed in science disciplines. This study aims to identify STEM-SDGs-based Students’ Worksheets used by students in supporting scientific communication skills on temperature, heat, and expansion material and analyze the scientific communication skills of junior high school students in discussing SDGs issues related to temperature, heat, and expansion. The method in this research uses a qualitative approach with a single case study research type. This research was conducted at MTSN 2 Jember in the odd semester of the 2024/2025 school year. The results showed that the application of STEM-SDGs-based Students’ Worksheets played a role in improving students' scientific communication skills. This is because the STEM-SDGs-based Students’ Worksheets has been prepared by 25% to support each indicator. The STEM approach that integrates various disciplines encourages students to actively participate and discuss, thus strengthening their understanding of complex scientific concepts. Based on the analysis of students' scientific communication skills after using the STEM-SDGs-based Students’ Worksheets, it was found that the highest student condition was in the fourth indicator, namely representation form (86%) with a very good category. While the lowest student condition in the third indicator, namely the use of scientific terms (code), which tends to be low with a deficient category (72%). The interview results show that students understand concepts related to SDGs and can explain scientific phenomena, but still use colloquial language rather than appropriate scientific terms. Keywords: scientific communication, STEM, SDGs, temperature, heat, expansion.

Analisis Suprasegmental Penutur Laki-Laki dan Perempuan pada Kalimat Imperatif Bahasa Batak Toba

Suprasegmentals are language sounds that accompany phonemes, which can be in the form of sound pressure, length-shortness, and sound vibrations associated with speech segments. Suprasegmentals in this study includes the frequency, intensity, and duration of the sounds produced. This study aims to analyze the differences in frequency, intensity, and duration of the sounds produced by male and female speakers in pronouncing Toba Batak imperative sentences, namely: “beta hita tu topi tao!” which means ‘let's go to the lakeside!’. This research method uses an instrumental approach by maximizing Praat software in analyzing frequency, intensity, and duration. The population and sample taken in this study is the voice of one native male and female speaker. The results of the analysis of this study show, namely: (1) the frequency of male speakers' voices is lower than female speakers; (2) the intensity of male speakers' voices is smaller than female speakers; and (3) the duration of male speakers' voices takes longer than female speakers to say the sentence. From this research, it can be seen that male and female voice differences have relevance to suprasegmental because both focus on the nonsegmental aspects of language, which play an important role in verbal communication. Keywords: suprasegmentals, frequency, duration, intensity

The Influence of Image Media on Early Childhood Learning Motivation

This study investigates the impact of image-based media on early childhood learning motivation at Al-Furqon Islamic Kindergarten in Makassar, Indonesia. From the perspectives of intrinsic motivation and multimedia learning the study implements both quantitative data with a quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design and qualitative classroom observation methods. The intervention involved Group B children viewing visual materials showing familiar cultural farm animals and their settings. This section included nineteen participants. After implementing image media the learning motivation scores of participants significantly increased as confirmed by a paired sample t-test (p &lt; 0.05; Cohen’s d = 4.73) indicating a very large effect size. The qualitative results demonstrated that participants showed higher levels of emotional engagement along with verbal communication and they continued tasks while working with peers based on classroom observations. The research shows that image-based media help both increase motivation levels and encourage valuable cognitive and social engagement during early childhood education. This study demonstrates how culturally relevant visual content available at low cost can build highly engaging learning places that respect child development in underfunded early education facilities. The paper presents implications for early childhood motivation research together with recommendations for educational implementation.

Role of Active Listening in Cultural Competence, Empathy, Emotional Regulation, and Communication Skills in Doctors Doing House Job

ABSTRACT The present study aims to improve doctors’ active listening skills after imparting training, with a significant focus on teaching active listening skills in a workshop format. The authors believe that improving active listening skills helps increase cultural competence. Social competence indicators include empathy, emotional regulation, doctor-patient communication, and verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Seventy-three volunteer doctors participated during their first year of clinical internship training (house job) following their degree completion in medicine. The study used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design to assess training effectiveness through valid and reliable self-reported assessment tools. The posttest was carried out after 7 days and follow-up after 3 weeks of training while interacting with patients in a healthcare setting before filling the same measures used in the pretest condition. A Paired sample t-test revealed significant improvements in scores on the scales in pretest-posttest and follow-up conditions that reflected enhancement in active listening, cultural competence, doctor patient communication, and social competence’s indicators (empathy, emotional regulation, verbal and nonverbal communication skills). Active listening, after controlling baseline measures and demographic, significantly and positively predicted cultural competence, doctor-patient communication, and social competence indicators in both posttest and follow-up. Findings, along with study limitations and future research directions, are discussed.

The Impact of Mild Depression on Evaluative Language Cognition and Social Interactive Behavior Based on Eye-Tracking Experiment

Verbal communication with evaluative characters of different emotional valence occurs often in our daily social interaction. Generally, positive evaluative language involving praise and appreciation triggers social approach whereas negative evaluative language involving criticism and censure triggers social avoidance. Differently, individuals with depression may display distorted social behavior due to their excessive sensitivity to negative evaluative language but blunt to positive information. Based on the eye-tracking experiment, this study employs an evaluative movie watching task to investigate the influence of depression-induced negatively-biased processing for evaluative language on gaze to evaluation-givers' eyes. The results suggest that negative self-schema in depressed individuals contributes to their excessive sensitivity to negative evaluative language, which leads to their avoidance behavior in response to social criticism. The findings have great implications for understanding social dysfunctions in individuals with depressive symptoms.

Evaluating a three-pronged self-assessment tool to enhance communication skills in first-year pharmacy students: a multi-institutional study.

Evaluating a three-pronged self-assessment tool to enhance communication skills in first-year pharmacy students: a multi-institutional study.

Environment Spatial Restitution for Remote Physical AR Collaboration.

The emergence of spatial immersive technologies allows new ways to collaborate remotely. However, they still need to be studied and enhanced in order to improve their effectiveness and usability for collaborators. Remote Physical Collaborative Extended Reality (RPC-XR) consists in solving augmented physical tasks with the help of remote collaborators. This paper presents our RPC-AR system and a user study evaluating this system during a network hardware assembly task. Our system offers verbal and non-verbal interpersonal communication functionalities. Users embody avatars and interact with their remote collaborators thanks to hand, head and eye tracking, and voice. Our system also captures an environment spatially, in real-time and renders it in a shared virtual space. We designed it to be lightweight and to avoid instrumenting collaborative environments and preliminary steps. It performs capture, transmission and remote rendering of real environments in less than 250ms. We ran a cascading user study to compare our system with a commercial 2D video collaborative application. We measured mutual awareness, task load, usability and task performance. We present an adapted Uncanny Valley questionnaire to compare the perception of remote environments between systems. We found that our application resulted in better empathy between collaborators, a higher cognitive load and a lower level of usability, remaining acceptable, to the remote user. We did not observe any significant difference in performance. These results are encouraging, as participants' observations provide insights to further improve the performance and usability of RPC-AR.

The effect of midwifery students' phubbing behaviors on communication skills in Türkiye.

The effect of midwifery students' phubbing behaviors on communication skills in Türkiye.

Is AI the future of evaluation in medical education?? AI vs. human evaluation in objective structured clinical examination

BackgroundObjective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are widely used in medical education to assess students’ clinical and professional skills. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to complement human evaluations. This study aims to explore the consistency between human and AI evaluators in assessing medical students’ clinical skills during OSCE.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at a state university in Turkey, focusing on pre-clinical medical students (Years 1, 2, and 3). Four clinical skills—intramuscular injection, square knot tying, basic life support, and urinary catheterization—were evaluated during OSCE at the end of the 2023–2024 academic year. Video recordings of the students’ performances were assessed by five evaluators: a real-time human assessor, two video-based expert human assessors, and two AI-based systems (ChatGPT-4o and Gemini Flash 1.5). The evaluations were based on standardized checklists validated by the university. Data were collected from 196 students, with sample sizes ranging from 43 to 58 for each skill. Consistency among evaluators was analyzed using statistical methods.ResultsAI models consistently assigned higher scores than human evaluators across all skills. For intramuscular injection, the mean total score given by AI was 28.23, while human evaluators averaged 25.25. For knot tying, AI scores averaged 16.07 versus 10.44 for humans. In basic life support, AI scores were 17.05 versus 16.48 for humans. For urinary catheterization, mean scores were similar (AI: 26.68; humans: 27.02), but showed considerable variance in individual criteria. Inter-rater consistency was higher for visually observable steps, while auditory tasks led to greater discrepancies between AI and human evaluators.ConclusionsAI shows promise as a supplemental tool for OSCE evaluation, especially for visually based clinical skills. However, its reliability varies depending on the perceptual demands of the skill being assessed. The higher and more uniform scores given by AI suggest potential for standardization, yet refinement is needed for accurate assessment of skills requiring verbal communication or auditory cues.

Prosodic intonation modulates semantic incongruence: Evidence from an electrophysiological study.

Prosodic intonation modulates semantic incongruence: Evidence from an electrophysiological study.

Analisis Makna pada Bento sebagai Komunikasi Nonverbal dalam Film Bento Harassment Melalui Teori Semiotika Roland Barthes

This research analyzes bento inscriptions as a form of nonverbal communication in the film Bento Harassment (今日も嫌がらせ弁当) through Roland Barthes semiotic theory. Employing a qualitative descriptive method, it explores how denotation, connotation, and myth are reflected in bento messages, revealing emotions, cultural values, and the mother-daughter relationship dynamics. At the denotative level, the bento is a literal meal; at the connotative level, it conveys the mother's affection, frustration, and moral lessons. Mythologically, the bento symbolizes Japanese cultural values, such as hard work and indirect family communication, illustrating how food expresses love and care. This study contributes to semiotics in visual culture by demonstrating how everyday objects like bento serve as symbolic tools for conveying meaning beyond verbal communication.

Botulinum Toxin: Surely, We Can Do Better? Optimising Results Beyond On-Label Techniques and Teaching

Abstract Facial expressions and their emotional attributes are essential as an adjunct to verbal communication and for non-verbal communication. Botulinum toxin (BoNTA) used to limit wrinkles induced by aging changes on expressive faces. However, suboptimal injection techniques can lead to undesirable outcomes, such as brow ptosis, unnatural eyebrow elevation, flattening of the cheeks and unnatural smiles. It is the intention here to investigate whether “on-label” standard injection techniques may be a contributing factor to poor results. A consensus group convened in 2023 looked at the relevant anatomy, expressions induced, complications of on-label BoNTA treatment, solutions and alternative treatments. Interrogation of databases was supplemented by expert opinion of the consensus group. We found that anatomical variations, generic on-label injection patterns, and inadvertent muscle recruitment contribute to suboptimal outcomes. Undesirable outcomes included brow ptosis, unnatural eyebrow shape, smile pattern alteration and cheek flattening. These were linked to on-label standard protocols that fail to address individual anatomy and functional variations. Adjustments in dose, depth, and injection placement, along with simultaneous treatment of linked or antagonistic muscles, were identified as critical solutions. To optimise outcomes, it is critical to tailor injection strategies respecting individual anatomical and functional differences. Many unnatural appearances seen after BoNTA seem to have their origin in on-label techniques suggested by manufacturers. Whilst on-label protocols have been useful as a guide, we feel it is time to move past these to account for patient-specific needs and anatomical nuances. This study provides practical recommendations for improved injection techniques.

N-POWER (N-BUILT) CRAFTSMEN’S TRAINING PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

In Nigeria, a large number of building construction projects did not meet clients' satisfaction or are abandoned because of incompetence of craftsmen working on construction sites. This made the Nigerian government to establish (N-Build) programs in 2015 to bridge craftsmen’s training gap. The research study assessed (N-Built) craftsmen’s training program on the performance of building construction projects in South-west Nigeria. Three hundred and ninety-five (395) questionnaires were administered to government agencies, professional bodies, center heads, trainers, and trainees who are stakeholders and are engaged in the (N-Built) craftsmen’s training program. Two hundred and eighty (280) questionnaires was retrieved from the respondent (70.9%). From the result of the study, the major hindrances to the progress of (N-Built) craftsmen’s training are collection of tools during and after the training, engagement on six-month’ internships, collection of feedback from the trainees, and relating the impact of the training on the economy. The major skills needed for (N-Built) craftsmen training is tool handling technique, communication of drawing, practical competence, lateral and horizontal verbal communication, and active listening skills. While the factors affecting craftsmen’s (N-Built) training programs in Southwest Nigeria are the availability of government funding, inconsistency in government policies, inadequate provisions of deliverables, late arrival of materials for the training, and improper planning. The paired sample t-test result of the proposed effect of (N-Built) craftsmen’s training on construction project performance indicated a significant relationship (p-value &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, (N-built) craftsmen’s training should be encouraged to improve the performance of building construction projects in Nigeria.