Closing the communication links

 

Communication is like a chain, when it is successful it is strong, when there are weak links it breaks and we have all experienced the frustration and pain that results.

 

Just because you have said something it does not mean that it has been heard or understood. To make communication clear and effective both parties are responsible for ensuring that the message has been heard and understood.

I like to think of this as closing the links on the chain.

I had a f2f meeting booked today for 9:00 am, the other party realised after the scheduling that this would cause a clash in their diary and wanted me to reschedule to 8:30 am. They phoned and left a message, sent a text. I have just changed phone provider and both messages did not reach me in the swap. I turned up for the meeting as planned at 9:00 am. The other party had not closed the link, sent a message assuming that I received it. If the message had been followed up by a telephone call, ensuring that we spoke, both they and I would know the new time.

 

With modern technology we so often broadcast messages, assuming they have been received and understood. I have a friend whose child plays with their phone, Facebook and WhatsApp messages often look like they have been read when she has not seen them, this has led to confusion and misunderstanding.

Would  an acknowledgment, even if it was an emoji be useful?

 

We have all experienced the e mail that gets lost in the ether, sent to an address that we don’t look at frequently, other that are lost in spam folders. Just because it was sent, doesn’t mean it was received, read, or understood

What can you do to close the loopes in your communication, to avoid misunderstanding?

A problem can only be present in the absence of a truthful conversation.

Let me know your thoughts using the comments function.

Valley of despair?

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Become memorable

 

 

Become memorable

 

When I was 8, I went to the hygienist for the very first time to have topical fluoride treatment. That short visit changed my life as from that moment on I wanted to be a hygienist. (I became a dentist instead and my passions always included perio and prevention).  As clear as day I can still remember Sharon telling me a story about Waterloo teeth, false teeth made from the dead soldiers on the battlefields at Waterloo, as she told me the story she also showed me pictures.
Why is it that I can remember that conversation so clearly almost 40 years later, and I can’t recall another conversations?

Have you ever been frustrated that your patients don’t seem to remember what you say?
Would you like your patients to recall what you said to them 40 years later?

Read the following list of words only once spending no more than 30 seconds doing so, and remember as many of the words as you can

Book

Car

Flower

Principal

Bye

Associate

Dental

Business

Coach

Tooth

Trumpet

Bus

Hat

Perfect

Bye

Now

Become the dentist everyone loves to recommend

Bye

And

Patient

Horse

Red

Pie

Bye

Learning

Effortless

Valuable

Guide

 

With your eyes closed, recall
1. The first five words
2. The last five words
3. The word that was repeated
4. The long phrase
5. As many of the other words as you can?


Now check back and see how well you did.

For most of you, the results are likely to have been that you;
• Found question 1 easier than question 2
• Were able to recall no 3
• Found question 4 easy
• Found question 5 most difficult.

What  does this teach you about communicating with your patients?

Patients generally 

• Remember what you tell them first
• Easily recall what is repeated to them
• Will remember something that stands out or is significant in some way.

How can you apply this to your consultations?

• Consider what you want your patients to remember
• Tell them the important information e.g. the benefits of treatment first
• Repeat the information that you want them to retain, e.g. the health of their gums is determined by how well they brush and floss their teeth.
• Make important information stand out, for example use metaphors and stories to explain procedures, show them photos, videos or share powerful experiences and testimonials.


Your patients will already be remember what you say first, what you repeat and what is significant, now you can choose what it is that you want your patients to recall by
• Saying the important information first
• Repeating the significant points
• Making the information you want them to remember significant and outstanding.