Communication Techniques and Questions for Maximum Impact in Community Navigation

The Community Navigation assessment process uses a variety of communication techniques and questions. The methods you’ll use will help build rapport and help you find out what someone needs. They are also crucial for helping you identify the barriers someone may face when accessing services. In this webinar, we’ll talk through the most common communication techniques and the best ways to ask both open- and closed-ended questions to get the information you need to help someone. The methods we’ll discuss will work for both phone and text-based communications.

Attendees will learn:

• Build rapport and transition into the assessment process

• Communication techniques needed to navigate a Community Navigation conversation

• Asking questions for maximum impact and results

Sandra Ray Bio:

Sandra Ray has more than 29 years in the information and referral field, dating back to her first position at a small West Texas community center. The small information and referral program at that agency evolved into a regional 211 center. She moved to the Greater Houston area, where she worked with the 211 Texas program for United Way of Greater Houston. She was responsible for the program’s accreditation, training, and reporting for the center. She wrote curriculum for the Houston 211 program and for other centers in the Texas 211 network. She joined Inform USA in 2023. Her responsibilities include writing training programs, hosting webinars, and working with national partnerships. She continues to speak at national conferences on a wide range of topics. Finally, she is the facilitator for the coaching micro-certification, a new product of Inform USA designed to increase the coaching skills of established professionals in the field. In her spare time, she is a freelance writer, enjoys crocheting, rock polishing, and playing with her grandchildren.

**This course will provide 1 hr of Inform USA Professional Development Credit