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4 Strategies To Enhance Your Dental Team’s Communication

4 Strategies To Enhance Your Dental Team’s Communication
by Heather Colicchio

Improving communication strategies in the dental practice is an ongoing and ever-developing process. Even the most efficiently run practices have room to grow when it comes to how they communicate internally. Here are a few tips to help you fine tune the way you and your staff interact.

Make sure you’re well prepared for the morning huddle

It’s vital that everyone on your team is on the same page before the business day starts. Don’t attend the morning huddle unprepared. Know who your patients are, what they’re going to need, specific concerns that you’re sure to have to address during the day, and how you want your staff to handle these concerns when they arise. This extra preparation will prevent unnecessary back-and-forth time for all staff throughout the day.

Without a morning huddle, it’s nearly impossible to make sure the entire team is on board and aware of unique patient situations that are expected during their appointments. As a result, patients tend to feel that no one knows what’s going on because their providers have not been made aware of their concerns, even if they’ve specifically asked and mentioned these concerns to someone on the team. Better communication means better patient care.

Practice active listening

Paying attention to what someone is saying is hard to do when you’re thinking about what you want to say when they stop talking. When your mind is focused on the words you’re putting together, you can’t fully comprehend what the other person is trying to communicate.

This is where active listening comes into play. This involves focusing on what the other person is saying and getting a feel for his or her attitude, beliefs, frustrations, and goals as you soak up that message. Your eyes should be focused on the person’s face, so don’t interrupt, and interact with the person (even if it’s as simple as a nod) appropriately to what is being said.

Read full article on Dentistry iQ.