Shape Your Professional Personality Quantity

How do you care for your professional personality? How do you communicate, verbally and non-verbally, for example, with clothing and other attributes, body language, and positioning in the room? How can you use your emotions in your work without blurring the line between your private and professional platform? How do you handle power differences and conflicts of interest in your work? Our attitude towards professionalism has changed over the past fifty years. Clear conduct codes associated with various professions have been replaced by a more liberal approach to how each person chooses to shape their professional role. There are plenty of books on conversation techniques for professionals in human service organizations. However, there has been a lack of reflection tools to use in shaping the broader professional role – a gap that this book fills.

In the book, various professional codes of conduct and expressions within human service organizations are discussed and problematized. Tips and advice are also given on how professionals can care for their professional platform. Each chapter ends with questions to consider in shaping one’s own professional approach. The book is aimed at professionals, but more specifically at students and professionals in healthcare, education, and care.

CONTENT

The precondition – an unequal relationship

The professional conversation

The professional platform

• Framework of the profession
• The knowledge bank
• Legislation and confidentiality

Professional neutrality

Your professional communication

• Verbal communication
• Non-verbal communication
• Clothes, attributes, and degree of exposure
• Body language

Your emotions – a tool in the profession

Professional empathy

• Identifying and understanding emotions

Caring for the professional platform

• Roses and champagne
• Rest from relationships and emotions
• Sorting and reflection
• Take off your coat at the end of the day