Using Body Language To Enhance Your Patient Relationships

Your patient says he had no problems with his treatment and rubs his nose.  Another tells you he has taken all his medication this week then sweeps his upper lip with his tongue.  A third leans forward and gestures wildly as she speaks enthusiastically about how she feels.  Who is telling you the truth? Can you read your patient’s nonverbal communication? You can send and receive up to 10,000 nonverbal cues in less than one minute of interaction. That is an enormous amount of information that can be available about your patients if you read all the nonverbal signals they give you.

You need to be aware of what patients, physicians and staff members are saying to you. You can, if you monitor for honesty given, non-verbally with voice cues and body language. Research confirms that nonverbal cues give the most accurate indication of someone's truest emotions.

In this course, you will not only learn to watch for cues but also what you can do nonverbally to show the most effective caring concern with your patients. You know that the quality of your patients care and the true satisfaction in your work comes from developing strong and effective relationships and earning and sustaining  respect and quality relationships with physicians, the  family members of patients and clinic staff members.  This course will give you insights and effective hands on tools to improve your relationships

Knowing and using body language can do so much for you. It is like recieving a "people" microscope, magic "night" vision goggles and a high tech hearing device. You will suddenly see and understand things you have never seen and heard before. Whatever skills you have now, these insights can make you much more confident and more successful.

Some of the insights include:

• Do you want to use the power of the first impressions to pick up information about your patient’s personality, mood and pain level as quickly as possible?
• Would you like to know five ways to “hear” a patient?
• Have you ever wondered what a patient was thinking but not saying?
• Do you know the secret differences between the way males and female patients share their concerns and symptoms?
• Do you want to gain the eyes and attention of your patients?
• Have you wanted to establish rapport quickly and easily to make your patient immediately at ease?
• Do you want to know two things to do when a patient or physician isn't listening to you?

You'll develop your nonverbal awareness including:

• The best way to hold your hands to show you are being honest.
• How tongue lip and mouth movements reveal lies.
• The difference between a real smile and a masking smile.
• What part of the body is the most "honest?"
• How to read pauses.
• What space and territory reveal.
• How the heart and other body windows hide of reveal emotions.
• How to question to find out the truth.
• What's the best way to "catch" a liar?
• How smiles can mask and reveal emotion.
• Listening to the face, body and voice.
• Knee-crossing and brain function.
• How facial expressions around the mouth can reveal true feelings.
• Gesturing for increased verbal ability.
• SOFTENING for increased rapport.
• Showing palms as a lie detector.
• Forming a clear message with your body language.
• Reading the full nonverbal sentence.
• Foot tapping as an indication of nervousness and pacing.

Course Outline

First Impressions - Your first "gut" impression.

• What makes first impression so important?
• Group and paired exercises- What do you look for?
• Assessment tools.

Greetings and Handshakes

• What the handshake and greeting behavior reveals.
• Reading the greeting signals.
• Group and paired exercise- Shake it like you usually do.
• Self -assessment tool.

 What's in this workshop for you?

• What makes nonverbal cues so important?
• The benefits of self monitoring.
• How body savvy improve physician and staff communications more effective.
• Why nonverbal communication has incredible power to show caring.
• Concern and impact the health and healing of your patients.
• How to spot a liar pretest.

Body language and Nonverbal Communication 

• The brain body connection that changes how you and the physician feel.
• Paired exercise - arms up, out & yell.
• How to read body language in the right context and order to increase your accuracy.

Space and Territory and Body Windows

• How space affects level of self-disclosure and honesty.
• Be aware of your body bubble and the patients and physicians bubble.
• Paired exercise – “walk towards me.”
• How seating and standing positions affect your "read."
• How is power communicated non-verbally and how that affect the "read."

How to look for body window signals

• What the Windows on the feet, legs, heart, palms, neck, eyes, and head can indicate.
• Group exercise “watching body windows.”

Kinesthetic

• How to watch for leakage cues in hand movements.
• Gestures and what they mean.
• Use of artifacts and stuff and what that can reveal.
• Video taping with coaching.

Establishing Rapport and trust

•  Matching and Mirroring.
• Turtles and Rabbits the importance of pacing.
• Matching Voice (over the phone and in person).
• Matching Body Language.
• Matching Breathing.
• Paired Exercises.

Facial Expressions

•  Facial Expressions and what they can tell you.
• Facial Expression cue sheet.
• Watch a video tape and fill out cue sheet.

The Eyes Have It

• Eye Contact.
• Eye Scanning.
• Breaking Eye Contact.
• Paired exercise.

The Power and Healing of Touch

• What is appropriate touch depending on pain level and gender?
• The healing significance of touch.

How to check in     

• Questioning techniques and information gathering.
• Check in tools.
• Monitoring tools.
• How to deal with the difficult or hostile patients and staff.
• Look for the turning point.
• Deception check list and chart.
• Video tape and coaching.

   -Optional Modules depending of time and class size.

How Diversity Issues effect the read

• Nationality
• Race
• Age
• Gender

Nonverbal ways of dealing with the stress of body honesty reading

• How the patient’s energy affects you and vice versa.
• Ten nonverbal tips to handling stress.
• Putting it all together.
• Paired exercise to form a plan of action.

Caring Concern and Patient Relation is a perfect program for hospitals, medical offices, Physicians, Nurses, Anastisiologists, Dentists & any Medical Practitioner. Click here to contact Patti now!