9.5.4 Personal contact with people with speech impairments
- Listen patiently. Don’t interrupt the flow or finish sentences for the person, unless they are looking to you for assistance.
- Don’t pretend that you understand if you don’t.
- If you don’t understand and need some help, say so. Don’t just ignore the person or walk away.
- Ask the person to repeat or write something down if you are uncertain of what was said.
- Check back with the person by summarising what has been said (for example, ‘You want to reserve the new book by Deirdre Purcell, is that right?’)
- As with everything else, understanding a person’s way of communicating gets easier with familiarity and practice.
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- 1. Introduction
- 2. What's clear communication all about?
- 3. Why do it?
- 4. What are you saying?
- 5. Who are you telling?
- 6. How to say it in plain and simple language
- 7. Using the right words
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- 9. How to say it
- 9.1 How to say it in print
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- 9.5 How to say it out loud
- 9.5.1 How to say it on the phone
- 9.5.2 Personal contact with people with disabilities: the essentials
- 9.5.3 Personal contact with people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
- 9.5.4 Personal contact with people with speech impairments
- 9.5.5 Personal contact with people who have impaired vision
- 9.5.6 Personal contact with people with other forms of impairment
- 9.6 How to say it electronically
- 10. Where to say it
- 11. Display the right way
- 12. How to tell people where to go
- 13. Planning how to say it
- 14. Next steps for public libraries
- Guide to Communication: Say It Write
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