ABSTRACT
Introduction The beginning of the interview is a particularly rich area to explore in communication skills teaching. In these opening minutes, we make our fi rst impressions, begin to establish rapport, attempt to identify the problems that the patient wishes to discuss and start to plan a course for the interview. The scene is set for the rest of the consultation. Yet we know from research that many problems in communication occur in this initial phase of the interview. As we shall see, physicians frequently even fail to discover the most important reason for the patient’s attendance!
