ABSTRACT
In most consultations you need to give information of some sort to patients. Patients will be able to hear and take in information most effectively when: it is delivered in small pieces, clinicians check understanding before moving on, they use language that matches theirs (nouns and representational states); and they deliver it at the right speed or pace. The right side of the brain can only hear the nouns, verbs and descriptive words that clinicians use. It can't hear the word 'not'. At some stage of most consultations it is likely that you will need to give information to patients. These different sorts of information giving require a portfolio of skills. Maintaining rapport, using language well, and delivering the information in manageable pieces are some of them. Most health professionals think that they explain things in a way that patients can understand.
