There was once a time when having adequate technical skills and competencies, and the appropriate clinical management plan, was sufficient to be considered an effective member of the healthcare team. Today, effective communication is regarded as an essential skill for any healthcare or social care professional. The various healthcare professionals' codes of practice all demand good communication as a basic requirement, and yet despite more than three decades' mainstream acceptance of the positive impact of good communication, and widespread understanding of the consequences of poor communication, first-class communication is not always evident on hospital wards, in doctors' and dentists' surgeries, in ambulances and at clinics.This practical handbook aims to address this problem for anyone working in health and social care, from students undergoing professional education or on practice placements to recently qualified doctors, nurses, midwives and paramedics.Senior members of healthcare teams whose formal training may not have covered communications will find it helpful, as will many other staff, including non-regulated health and social care workers such as healthcare assistants, who have received limited formal training in communications.