How can you improve your clinical communication skills?

All health care professionals can learn how to communicate more effectively with patients. The empowerment approach relies on effective dialogue. If both parties feel able to communicate their thoughts and concerts, a productive exchange of ideas can develop.

Creating the environment

This type of approach requires a quiet environment and the impression of an unhurried approach, which can be conveyed by maintaining eye contact with the patient and active listening.

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Adopting the right attitude

Health professionals' efforts to promote behaviour change tend to be ineffective when they use a didactic (instructive) education or - the 'you-must-do-this' - approach. Instilling fear by saying 'if you don’t do this, your wound will get worse' is counterproductive in the long term as patients lose confidence and feel powerless and out of control⁽¹⁾. The dialogue between the health professional and the patient and their family should be non-judgemental, assertive, rather than didactic.

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Improving your body language

The body language of the patient and health care professional are of equal importance. health professionals can use the following simple techniques to help reassure patients that they are listening to them and can empathise with their concerns:

Sit facing the patient and at the same level (preferably away from a desk)
Look directly at the patient and smile
Nod to encourage them to speak
Allow the patient time to speak and do not interrupt them
Be aware of visual cues indicating the patient is uncomfortable, such as folded arms, looking down and hand-wringing
Focus on the patient and do not take notes or face the computer

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Asking questions and actively listening

Asking open questions can help put patients at ease by encouraging them to describe their health concerns in their own words and to offer potential solutions. This is much more likely to encourage patients to disclose useful information and to provide insight into their thoughts and feelings.

Start by asking open questions
Use clear language and short sentences
speak slowly and face the patient
Avoid medical terminology
If the patient does not understand the question, re-phrase it in a different way
Do not ask too many questions at the same time as people can only process small chunks of information at a time
Check the patient's understanding by asking them to rephrase what they have just been told.

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Hood KK, Hilliard M, Piatt G, Levers-LandisCE. Effective strategies for encouraging behaviour change in people withdiabetes. Diabetes Manag (Lond). 2015; 5(6):499–510