8 Interaction Tips to Help Form a Bond With Clients

Most audiologists and SLPs navigate difficult conversations every day. Just last week, I met a man recently diagnosed with ALS who was finding it difficult to speak and even harder to swallow. Who knows what to say to that? I sure didn’t. Sadly, sometimes our clients don’t always leave our offices feeling that they’ve been fully heard when that’s exactly what they need most. As a person who stutters, I know what it’s like not to be heard. It makes me want to make sure my clients never feel this way. Although listening skills are human (we all have them), truly excellent listening skills seem superhuman. But they’re so important: They increase patient buy-in and lower the skyrocketing costs of health care. During my interaction with patients , I discovered eight tips to help us bond and listen to one another better. Treat them like they’re the experts in themselves … because they are. You may know a lot about a patient’s cochlea or larynx, but your patient knows a lot about herself. Learn from her about what really matters most. Give them as much control as you can. People feel vulnerable in health care settings. But they can feel more empowered when they’re given choices, even small ones. For example, instead of knocking on a closed door in an inpatient setting and immediately walking into the room, knock, peek your head in, and ask, “May I come in?” The outcome remains the same, but the patient now likes you more than perhaps most o...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Audiology Speech-Language Pathology business patient-centered care Practice Management Source Type: blogs