In addition to listening skills, verbal skills are your most valuable asset. Good communication is a team-wide effort. Effective and positive communication requires great verbal skills and will determine success in all of your interactions with patients. But this doesn’t mean that great verbal skills are easy — they take lots of practice!
Just say yes! ‘Yes’ is the most beautiful word in the English language. ‘Yes’ means that I am getting what I want, and whoever I am talking to is doing his or her best to make my life easier.
In fact, you should always use positive language when talking to patients.
This might make it hard when you cannot give the patient what they are requesting. In these situations, it is essential that you focus on what you CAN do for the patient. Don’t use the word ‘no’! In fact, avoid using any negative words at all. Instead of sharing with the patient what you can’t do for them or what is not available, share with them what you CAN do, or what IS available.
This is one of the most foundational steps for ensuring you have great verbal skills. There are other ways that you can maintain these skills too. Take a look at some of them below:
Implement these tips into your daily habits. Soon, it will become second nature!
