Effective Communication Skills for Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Effective communication skills for
working with Aboriginal and Torre
Strait Islander peoples

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Barriers in working with Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander peoples.....................................3
Clear understanding of the Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander peoples and what effective
communicating skills required to working with them................................................................4
Fundamental processes and practises of effective interpersonal communication applicable to
Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander peoples.............................................................................4
Resources and networking applicable to Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander peoples............5
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................5

Introduction
Effective communication is done between humans to interact with each other by exchanging
information. It is seen that vary considerably in terms of communication, interpersonal
practices and norms of communication efficiency. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people are facing a health crisis and lack of effective cross cultural communication is one of
the primary reasons for it.
Barriers in working with Aboriginal and Torre Strait
Islander peoples
An individual has to face several barriers while working with the Aboriginal and Torre Strait
Islander people. These people often face discrimination and have been subjected to partial
policies in the past. Therefore, it is observed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
show distrust in every system and may also feel fear or shame. It becomes difficult with these
people in gaining their trust back and freeing them from prejudiced emotions.
Second and most prominent barrier is of language as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people do not speak Standard Australian English as their first language. For some of the
people Australian English is a second, third or even fourth language. Hence it becomes
difficult to work with them without a translator. Also, the people who speak English
pronounce the words differently which differentiates Aboriginal English from Standard
Australian English. So understanding what a person is saying becomes difficult and delayed
(North Coast Area Health Service, 2009).
Another barrier is that a person has to be very aware of his/her nonverbal communication
while dealing with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they are cautious
nonverbal communication indications.(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Practice
Program, 2012).
It is also observed that some people of the Aboriginal community are not skilled in numeracy
and literacy. So while working with such, it becomes vital to give assistance with reading,
writing and processing new information (Aboriginal Services Branch, 2009).
Further it is also observed that some Aboriginal people commonly use swear words during
conversation as part of their regular vocabulary. Swearing is not regarded as offensive as it is