What is Communication?

I have the opportunity to communicate with many different people, both professional and not. The one person's communication that I find to be positive and competant is that of my coworker when she is conducting child care referrals over the phone. She takes the time to listen to the parent and picks up bits of information and expands on that information to help the parent feel at ease. She uses active listening skills by repeating back what she hears to ensure she undstood what the parent was saying. I have heard other referral specialists speaking to parents and only getting the minimal information and using that. This one coworker makes an effort to truly listen and makes that parent feel like they are unique, their situation is unique and demands special attention. I would like to model my communication techniques after her because while I do not generally do referrals, I do speak with providers and parents often for other things. I would like to be able to focus more on what the person is saying and be able to use that information to draw more information out of them instead of getting the bare minimum information.