Photo Credit: PeopleImages
On a recent episode of PeerPOV: The Pulse on Medicine, Bradley Block, MD, shared how clinicians can use subtle nonverbal cues to convey interest and authority to their patients, which can help build trust and improve the efficiency of visits.
Dr. Block: I like to break down nonverbal communication into interest and authority—interest with your facial expressions and authority with your voice.
Communication will flow more smoothly if patients know you’re interested in what they say. All you must concentrate on is your eyes. If you are communicating interest, you furrow your brows, squint your eyes, or raise your eyebrows a little bit, and it tells the patient that you’re listening, paying attention, and interested.
People often nod, but nodding can come off as dismissive. If you nod your head and say, “Mhm, mhm, mhm,” that might convey to the patient that you’re trying to move them through the visit more quickly. But furrowing your brows is an expression of interest.
You don’t have to worry about the rest of your face or what your body’s doing. There’s a lot about mirroring, crossing your arms, open body language versus closed—but we have enough to do. Let’s focus on this little area and make sure we’re moving it appropriately.
The second is authority, conveyed through how you use your voice. You’re making declarative statements. You’re not ending like a question because that will convey uncertainty. Make sure you’re ending on a lower tone to convey that you are an authority in this subject matter.
Another thing you want to avoid is glottic fry. Make sure you have good posture and are using enough breath support.
You can also take advantage of silence. Pauses will give your statement more gravity. They also give your patient permission to process and take their time so they don’t feel rushed through the visit. Using that pause allows them to think about what they are worried about and really want to ask. Paradoxically, it might help the visit be more efficient and utilize both the patient’s and the clinician’s time better.
