Communication Skills For
Indirect Practice
Policy, Advocacy, Management and
Community Practice
Chapter Five
Communication Skills for NonClinical Practice
• While clinical communication skills may be an
asset to social work practitioners in policy,
advocacy, administration, and community practice,
they are not sufficient for the tasks performed by
such practitioners.
• Communication skills different from those used in
clinical practice are needed for macro practice.
• Non-Clinical communication skills are needed in
steps two, three four, and seven of the decision
tree.
Communication Formats in
Macro Practice
• Macro communication consists of words in
written and oral formats.
• Communication also occurs through visual
and artistic formats i.e. posters, public
service advertisements, films.
• Communication also occurs as actions i.e.
actions often speak louder than words.
Macro Communication Formats Continued
• Written formats consist of: (a) white papers or
position papers, (b) formal narratives, (c) reports,
(d) statements, (e) letters, (f) written policies,
(g) written procedures, (h) memos, (i) e-mails,
(j) agendas, (k) minutes, (l) budgets) (m) books,
(n) data/spread sheets, & (o) monographs.
• Oral communication consists of: (a) public
testimony, (b) public speeches, (c) media
presentations- telecommunication,
teleconferencing, television, film and video.
Macro Communication FormatsContinued
• Communication as action consists of: (a)
the creation of advocacy networks, (b) fund
raising and social events, (c) political and
issue campaigns and (d) small and large
group actions to achieve social goals;
Who is the Client in Macro
Practice?
• Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2004) define three basic
client systems in macro practice:
(1) the beneficiary system – i.e. the client
population that will potentially benefit
from a policy, program, project or
organizing initiative.
(2) the target system i.e. those targeted for
change because they support the status quo and
block needed reform.
Who Is the Client In
Macro Practice?- Continued
(3) the change agent system i.e. the
practitioner who initiates reform or social
change and those who join with the
practitioner as allies in the change effort.
Four Types of Communication in
Macro Practice
1. Communication that conveys fiduciary
responsibilities
2. Communication that facilitates getting the
job done (task communication).
3. Communication that deals with public
relations (PR)
4. Communication that is motivational;
persuasive speech.
Communication About
Fiduciary Responsibilities
• Fiduciary responsibilities in policy practice are
communicated through the legislative process and
court rulings.
• Fiduciary responsibilities in advocacy practice
are communicated by legal and regulatory codes.
• Fiduciary responsibilities in community practice
are communicated through local political and
social structures
• Fiduciary responsibilities in management
practice are communicated by regulatory bodies
that have oversight functions.
Fiduciary Responsibilities In
Policy Practice
• Legislation gets institutionalized as public law.
• Court rulings uphold or overturn existing
authorizing legislation or public laws.
• Written regulatory policies are located in
governmental organizations that have oversight
functions.
• Agency-specific policies and procedures are
contained in agency operational manuals.
Fiduciary Misconduct in Policy
Practice
• Giving false testimony before a legislative
body or court of law.
• Failure to abide by authorizing legislation
and funding.
• Failure to conduct policy-based programs
consistent with the rules and regulations
that determine eligibility and guide the
disbursement of resources.
Fiduciary Responsibilities in
Advocacy Practice
• Advocates are charged with the responsibility of
bringing about reform of policies, programs and
structures through existing channels within a
legitimate hierarchical system to bring about
incremental changes.
• Advocates have the responsibility to challenge the
existing status quo through legal recourse, conflict
negotiation, consensus building, and non-violent
social action.
• Advocates have a responsibility to challenge the
existing status quo through tactics that fall outside
those legally proscribed if all else fails.
Misconduct in Advocacy Practice
• Participation in tactics that fall outside legal
parameters are subject to arrest and prosecution.
• Planned events (marches, demonstrations) require
prior notification and a permit.
• Speech may be regarded as incendiary and a
provocation to riot.
• The right to assemble may be viewed as trespass.
• Destruction of property is a felony.
• Written and verbal attacks aimed at an individual
or an entity may result in lawsuits based on claims
of libel, slander, or harassment.
Fiduciary Communication In
Community Practice
• Proposed initiatives should be based on a needs
assessment (survey).
• Proposed initiatives should document patterns of
resource utilization (survey).
• Community planners must involve community
members in the planning and decision-making
process consistent with the laws and regulations of
appropriate state, regional, county, city/town
governance.
• A fair and participatory democratic process
assures informed consent and community selfdetermination.
Fiduciary Misconduct in
Community Practice
• Falsification of data (needs/resources)
• Failure to comply with regional, state and
local planning regulations and procedures.
• Failure to follow and abide by established
democratic processes in community
planning and decision-making.
• Bribery and undue use of influence and
power to undermine fair proceedings.
Fiduciary Responsibilities in
Management Practice
• Within agency responsibilities are contained in
agency mission statements, operational manuals,
job descriptions and employee contracts.
• All agencies must have a formal grievance
procedure for handling conflicts between
employees and between employee and employer.
• Agencies are obligated to take all reasonable
precautions to assure the safety of employees on
the job
Fiduciary Responsibilities in
Management Practice-Continued
Fiduciary obligations to external bodies consists
of the following responsibilities:
(1) Compliance with licensing standards and work
regulations established by regulatory bodies.
(2) Annual fiscal reports are provided to appointed
executive boards and outside funding sources
(3) Annual program evaluation reports go to
regulatory bodies (professional, federal, state,
regional or local) that have oversight functions.
Fiduciary Responsibilities in
Management Practice-Continued
(4) Managers must communicate in numbers to
verify need, progress toward goals, fiscal
accountability and outcome success.
(5) Communication with regulatory bodies must
contain evidence of compliance with specific
standards.
(6) All agencies must comply with laws in hiring,
promotion, and firing and must adhere to laws
governing non-discrimination and sexual
harassment in the work place.
Misconduct in Management
Practice
• Fiscal irregularities; embezzlement of funds
• Discriminatory practices and sexual harassment
• Noncompliance with regulatory rules and
regulations
• Falsification of records, documents, and data
• Malfeasance in the execution of administrative
duties (administrators may be charged, fired or
forced to resign; if public, agencies may be placed
on probation or placed in receivership )
The Purpose of Task
Communication
• Communication to facilitate getting the job
done is referred to as task communication
• Task communication is contingent upon the
method used i.e. policy, advocacy,
community or management practice.
• Task communication in policy practice
facilitates policy analysis, development and
implementation.
Task Communication-Continued
• Task communication in advocacy practice
facilitates efforts to remedy an existing
status quo that is perceived to be oppressive
and non-responsive to the needs of some
members of the community
• Task communication in community
practice facilitates planning efforts that will
benefit the community as a whole.
Task Communication in
Management Practice
• Task communication in management
practice serves three purposes: (1) to ensure
the delivery of a quality product or service,
(2) to establish a co-operative, competent
workforce, and (3) to provide corrective
feedback.
Task Communication
Policy Analysis
Policy Analysis includes communication
about a policy’s (1) legislative and judicial
history. (2) its value premises, (3) its socioeconomic and political impact, (4) its
feasibility, (5) its delivery infrastructure –
i.e.authorizing legislation, programmatic
components, eligibility rules and
regulations, intended recipients, level of
funding, and organizational structures.
Task Communication
Policy Development
•
•
•
Normative policies require articulation of values.
Value differences occur over the desired end
goals of policies.
Theories of social justice usually inform
communication about the desired end goal of a
policy or policy initiative.
Communication frequently includes some
documentation of need and/or documentation of
resource availability and utilization.
Task Communication
Policy Implementation
• Persuasive speech is used to inspire support
for a policy initiative.
• Such speech must attend to audience; supporters,
opponents, those who are neutral; it targets
specific interest groups to gain support and
minimize opposition.
• Because policy groups differ in their desired end
goals, policy implementation often requires the
tactics (techniques) of power and influence.
Conflict and cognitive political theories inform
such tactics.
Advocacy Practice
• The purpose of advocacy practice is to remedy an
existing status quo that is perceived to be
oppressive and non-responsive to the needs of
some members of the community.
• Theories of social and economic justice as well as
theories of empowerment and conflict inform
advocacy practice.
• As a change perspective, Advocacy practice
challenges an order (legal) perspective.
Task Communication in
Advocacy-Reform
• As a reform method, advocacy practice
targets existing policies, programs and
structures to bring about incremental
change.
• Communication relies on leadership,
empowerment, consensus building and
conflict negotiation.
Task Communication:
Social Goals Advocacy
• Social goals advocacy targets institutional social
structures for change.
• Large scale or radical structural change involves
mobilization of small and large groups.
• Social goals advocacy involves consciousness
raising and tactics of power (civil disobedience
and/or war).
• Social goals advocacy is associated with
movements such as civil rights, feminist rights,
workers rights, human rights and the rights of
those with disabilities.
Task Communication in
Community Practice
• Task communication in community practice
is facilitated by rationale planning.
• Surveys communicate needs and resources
• Public hearings that are informational, that
seek citizen input, and that are deliberative
are conducted.
• Pert charts and other procedural step models
are utilized to track the planning process.
Public Relations Communication
in Policy Practice
• PR communication in policy practice humanizes
social issues.
• Profiles of specific clients are often used to
illustrate the inadequacy of resources to meet
need.
• Case studies are often presented in testimony
before governmental bodies and often appear as
features in newspapers or in television reports.
• Books illustrate the need for social policies
through the lives they document.
Public Relations Communication
in Policy Practice-Continued
• Movies, documentaries, DVD’s, concerts,
and videos visualize social issues.
• Topics include poverty, racism, welfare,
discrimination, mental illness, classism
homelessness, sexual orientation etc.
Public Relations Communication
in Advocacy Practice
• The aim of PR communication in advocacy
practice is to get a specific (ideology) story out.
• PR presents a one-sided argument for a particular
value-based position in opposition to the views
and positions presented by others.
• PR often appears as letters to the editor or as an
essay on the editorial page.
• PR in advocacy practice is designed to win public
opinion and/or engage supporters for the cause.
Public Relations Communication
in Community Practice
• PR communication in community practice is
aimed at establishing an appropriate working
relationship between community planners and
community members.
• Community planners must sell themselves as
resources and facilitators of community initiatives.
• An effective PR campaign must sell a vision of a
valued product (planning outcome), its cost, and a
timeline. It must respect local culture and
minimize polarization of community subgroups.
Public Relations Communication
in Management Practice
• PR communication in management practice occurs
with professional constituents, the general
population and the clientele of the agency.
• PR conveys what the agency does and how well it
does it.
• PR campaigns attempt to create a receptive (or at
minimum, neutral) climate among the general
public (social work serves stigmatized,
disfranchised, and marginalized populations).
Public Relations in Management
Practice -Continued
• PR involves hosting galas, and social events to
raise funds and to cultivate support from persons
with financial, social, or political influence.
• PR consists of advertising agency services to
potential clients. Multi-lingual communication
must delineate the hours, days of operation and
type of services provided.
• PR with professional constituents consists of
hosting in-service training, workshops,
symposiums and conferences. Students are
expected to be agency goodwill ambassadors
Persuasive and Motivational
Speech
• Persuasive and motivational speech differs
from public relations communication.
• Persuasive speech advocates for a view or
action.
• Persuasive speech has the capacity to move
hearts and minds and to transform people
and situations in remarkably powerful ways
(O’Keefe, 2001)
Persuasive Speech -Continued
• Persuasive speech is concerned with
directing and shaping belief, achieving
consensus, and moving others to action.
• To be successful, persuasive speech must
tap into the audience’s state of mind.
Characteristics of the Persuasive
Speaker
1. Credibility: audience perception of the
speaker’s competence i.e expertise, knowledge.
Some members of the audience are influenced
by argument and the evidentiary nature of the
facts presented
2. Liking: some members of the audience are
influenced by their perception of how likable the
speaker is based on physical attractiveness,
ethnicity, honesty and sincerity. Some are
influenced by the response of others in the
audience to the speaker.
Persuasive Speech
Message Characteristics
•
•
Message sidedness: Refers to how the speaker
handles an opposing view
(1) Ignores, (2) offers own side of argument, (3)
refutes opponent’s view point by point
Emotional Appeal: the message may appeal to
emotions; pity, guilt, idealism or fear. Fear is the
most powerful appeal in that it arouses a sense
of threat if audience does not accept speaker’s
proposed course of action.
Message CharacteristicsContinued
• Conclusion explicitness: Messages with
explicit conclusions are more persuasive
than messages with implicit conclusions.
• Messages should conclude with a proposal
for a specific action i.e. write or call your
congressperson or senator.
Changing Attitudes through
Persuasive Speech
1. Expectancy-Value Model: i.e. Social Security
Value: Each belief is associated with a valence.
i.e. “Income Security” is associated with a
positive valence. However, if security is pitted
against increasing one’s income would the
valence change e.g. security vs. more income
Expectancy: Factually, is one more secure
economically with the current social security
system or will one be more economically secure
if one supports social security reform?
Changing Attitudes Through
Persuasive Speech
2. Functional Model: Attitudes are changed
depending upon whether members of the
audience base their self-image on instrumental
or symbolic needs. One person will “buy” a car
based on its gas mileage, repair record, safety
features. Another will buy a care based on how
they perceive they will look or feel in it.
3. Uncertainty: Members of an audience are likely
to change their attitude depending on the degree
of uncertainty introduced i.e. maybe social
security will go bankrupt; it is not as secure as
we think
Persuasive Speech in Motivating
Action
• Persuasive speech may change an
individual’s attitude about a social issue but
it is quite another matter to get that person
to change his/her behavior or to engage in
activist behavior on behalf of the cause.
• The greater the personal cost in changing
one’s behavior the less likely one is to
change or to become an activist.
Policy Advocacy
Principled Speech or Propaganda
• Persuasive speech may be principled or
propaganda.
• Propaganda is defined as the spreading of ideas,
information, or rumor for the purpose of helping
or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.
(Webster, 1997, 932)
• In policy advocacy, social work students must be
taught to distinguish the articulation of values
(desired end-goals of policy initiatives) from the
oratory of propaganda.
Propaganda
• Propaganda is a deliberate and systematic
manipulation of public opinion, generally by the
use of symbols such as flags, monuments, oratory,
and publication (Webster, 1997)
• The purpose of propaganda is not to inform
but to persuade-to encourage belief or action with
the least thought possible (Gambrill, 1997;2005).
• Ethically, messaging should be truthful, factual,
and informative.
Persuasive Speech in
Advocacy Practice
• Persuasive and motivation speech consists of
raising consciousness among the oppressed and
the privileged.
• A charismatic leader (Reverend Martin Luther
King) uses speech to energize an apathetic
citizenry and tap into dormant discontent.
• Persuasive speech creates movements (civil rights)
• Speech turns into activism
• Legitimatization (through legislation/public laws)
often follows rights achieved through activism.
Persuasive Speech in
Community Practice
• Persuasive communication lies in creating
networks of influence.
• Practitioners know of and become known as
power brokers.
• Practitioners attend or host events where,
according to social exchange theory,
interactions lead to exchanges that benefit a
social work agency or client population.
Persuasive Speech in
Management Practice
• Persuasive-motivational speech in
management practice is linked to
leadership.
• Leadership is discussed in chapter seven.
Decision-Making:
Information and Persuasion
• It is important to distinguish rational
argument (discourse) from persuasive
speech in macro practice.
• Decisions should be based on information
and value exploration; not blind ideology
• Gambrill (1997,2005) warns of the illusion
of discourse.
Illusion of Discourse
Six Common Tactics
1. To allege certainty in the absence of evidence
2. To use sweeping generalizations to credit or
discredit points of view
3. To misrepresent an opponent’s position
4. To engage in diversionary tactics to draw
attention away from the opponent’s main point
5. To appeal to emotion in the absence of evidence
6. To substitute opinion for argument. Opinion
reflects unexamined ideology, misrepresentation
of the facts, factual errors and a personal agenda.