Are you listening?

Ever been to a party or social gathering where one person did all the talking? I am sure you have and I am sure you can relate to how annoying that situation is. You go home and all you can think about is how much that person liked to talk about themselves and their interests.

Now let’s go to a typical doctor’s appointment, patient goes in and the doctor starts talking, he is doing a thorough job but he keeps talking, he makes the right diagnosis and sends the patient on their way. How does the patient feel? I mean they got a great examination and the diagnosis they wanted, but did they feel listened to? No.

Listening is the biggest connecting skill we have, flip the whole opening of this article around and understand that people in general, love to talk about themselves. We do not feel listened to when we have not had chance to talk about and express ourselves.

So, the key in this weeks blog is to introduce or remind you of the concept of listening at various stages of the patient journey.

1.       The New Patient.
The most important question to ask in the New Patient Exam, which should take the majority of the conversation is “why now have you come to see me”. Ask that question and listen. The patient then gets a real chance to be heard, something that bonds you from the get go.

2.       The Report of Findings.
Use Socratic questioning throughout. Instead of being the ‘know it all’ and saying exactly what is wrong, ask them what they see when you show them results, ask them what they think in terms of time frames.
With this the patient will feel empowered and confident in you.

3.       The Adjustment Visit.

Often here chiropractors want to drill home the chiropractic message and force feed information to their patients. Not clever, they will not feel heard, and they will not stay.
Simply try asking this question each visit, “what has been the best bit of your day”?
With this question the power is twofold, first the patient gets an opportunity to share something they liked and enjoyed that day, and unlike asking a generic ‘how are you?’, you actually have to intently listen to the answer and engage.

So, there it is a simple masterclass in listening. You were born with one mouth and two ears after all.

Try it this week.

With love,

Tom