Principles of Communication and Counseling

Question 1

Name four contextual factors that can affect the communication process.

Answer 1

1. Client expectations
2. Gender, racial, ethnic differences
3. Learning styles—auditory, visual, kinesthetic
4. Past experiences

Question 2

What does it mean to exhibit “unconditional positive regard”?

Answer 2

Conveying warmth and acceptance by responding to the client’s messages with nonjudgmental verbal and nonverbal reactions
Respecting the client and communicating your sincere belief that everyone has the intrinsic capacity to change and define their own financial goals

Question 3

As it relates to good listening skills, what does “attending” mean?

Answer 3

Orienting oneself physically to the client to ensure the client feels like he/she has your full attention and to signal through body language that you care

Question 4

Distinguish between the “behavioral counseling” and “cognitive counseling” theories.

Answer 4

The behavioral counseling perspective assumes that if the client wants or needs to change financial behavior, then behavior should be the focus of the work.

The cognitive perspective assumes that a client’s schemas (thought patterns) are a result of past experiences and the focus should be on creating new ways of thinking that will lead to more positive emotions and financial behaviors.

Question 5

Name four methods of attending to your client to ensure effective communication.

Answer 5

1. Eye contact
2. Leaning forward and mirroring body language
3. Nodding
4. Avoiding distractions

Question 6

What is the “client-centered counseling theory”?

Answer 6

Communicating with clients using unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy. This helps clients fully experience and understand their feelings, thoughts, and goals.

Question 7

Identify the two ways a CFP® professional can strengthen the working alliance.

Answer 7

1. Increasing client-planner agreement on goals and tasks of the financial planning process
2. Increasing the emotional bond and affective trust between client and planner

Question 8

How can listening skills be characterized?

Answer 8

Actively deciphering information to more fully understand the verbal and nonverbal information communicated by the client

Two primary sources of information:

Content = clarifying and ensuring the planner is hearing exactly what the client is saying and expressing (i.e., verbal data)

Process = how information was expressed and conveyed through body language, tone, facial expressions, eye movements, etc. (i.e., nonverbal data)

Question 9

List the three primary skills associated with the communication of empathy.

Answer 9

Nonverbal and verbal attending
Paraphrasing content of client communications
Reflecting client feelings and implicit messages

Question 10

Differentiate between “mirroring” and “pacing.”

Answer 10

Mirroring is when the planner mimics or copies another person in terms of content or process.

Pacing is how fast or slow you are addressing content and process within the client session.