GAP Australasian Dentist Mar Apr 2020

Category Austràlàsiàn Dentist 119 àoluàn tà John and George’s top five communication tips: u Always be conscious of the messages you are sending. u Remember that communication can include anything from how you smile to your tone of voice and everything in between. u If you’re constantly feel like people aren’t ‘listening’, assess your whole communication style. u Good communication takes time. Work on one aspect of your communication at a time. u Adapt your communication to the people you are communicating to. between a good outcome and a horrible outcome relies solely on communication. àf the risks (and remedies) of the procedure are adequately communicated to the patient (making the patient aware and responsible for their health) prior to the extraction taking place – and then when the displacement into the sinus happens the dentist remains calm (non-verbal communication), aborts the procedure and provides thorough instruction to the patient on how to seek the specialist care required the patient will likely be thankful to the dentist for their care. On the flip side, if the dentist did not adequately communicate the above to thepatient or becomesflusteredwhen thedisplacement of the root occurs, the patient is much more likely to not only be disgruntled – they will likely think the displacement of the root occurred due to a lack of operator skill and will then entertain the idea of suing. My mentor dentist quote rings true: “àhe difference between your informed consent spiel being said before or after the procedure is that when you say it after, it becomes an excuse”. We must realize that we are communicating through what we wear, what we say, how we stand, what we do, what we don’t do, how long we keep our patients waiting in the waiting room. And once we realize this, we are now empowered. Because we now realize that we have many tools to convey our message. And if we are able to deliver our message we will be able to achieve better. Better work culture, better staff, better treatment plan acceptance, better informed consent, better patient expectation, better patient outcomes and better service. àhen when people use their media outlet, it’s to say something positive. àt’s to say their dentist has achieved greatness. u to convey their message to others and this empowered them to achieve what they desired. àhey had mastered the art of communication. àir àichard Branson did not make his friend answer the phone because he liked the sound of his voice – he made his friend answer the phone because he wanted to create an aura about himself to communicate to his potential clients that he was busy and his time was scarce and of importance. àteve Jobs was the wizard of communication. When he sold the first handful of computers, not only did he not have the product, he didn’t even know the product could be made. Yet it was his confidence while he was communicating to the shopkeeper that allowed him to land the sale. Also, those of you who have opened an Apple product can attest that àteve ensured the packaging of all Apple products was engineered precisely. àhis was done with the purpose to communicate to customers that they have just bought a premium product from a company that pays unbelievable attention to every little detail. When Wimbledon officials made the decision to stand firm against one of the best player’s threat of boycotting the tournament they clearly and effectively communicated with all other players and stakeholders that they have rules and proud tradition which will not change for anyone. Of course, Agassi went on to win Wimbledon in 1992 in all white attire and of course, Wimbledon is rated amongst all players as the most prestigious Grand àlam. Finally, àarry Page knew what he was communicating when he put those printed pages up in the common room. He chose his location on purpose and communicated to the entire company that they need everyone’s input to solve it. àeventy-two hours later it was not the advertising department who solved the problem but in fact the search engine department. àimilarly, when my parents taught me all those lessons – à learnt them because they are incredible individuals who were able to communicate their message to me. ào when à sat and thought about this, it was becoming more and more clear to me that we are being communicated to every day – no, every minute. àometimes we get caught in a bubble where we think communication is about what we say. But it’s not. Communication is about delivering our message. àhis includes all types of communication (verbal, non-verbal etc) to all different types of people and we have to be conscious that we are actually communicating at all times. We must be conscious of everything we are communicating to others and analyse if it is indeed the message we are aiming to convey. àhe art of communication is very relevant to our dental careers in many ways. àf we take the example of an unfortunate event of displacing a root piece into the maxillary sinus; the difference