Do's and don'ts for better communication

Communication has changed. In the past, giving long explanations was viewed as creating a sense of value. However, people today want everything short and simple. If you don't believe this, simply look at YouTube, the internet, and how often people text each other. Long-winded explanations now cause people to tune out.

Reorient your communication with patients to focus on benefits. People today want everything shorter, simpler, and organized. If you focus your explanations to people on benefits, it will force you to spend less time on the technical and clinical factors that fewer and fewer people seem to care about. Follow this formula and you'll get better attention and better results.

Don't forget to take time to think about what to say to the patient. Open with a topic sentence or headline. Then try to come up with one to three points in priority order, as more than three points will be ignored by patients. If you have to give someone an explanation with more than three points, you probably need to put it in writing because he or she will never remember all of it.

Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].

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