Part one of the Patient Retention Micro-Course
Communicate is the foundation of everything! Your patient will have a better outcome from you and will be way more likely to return if they feel like you are a trustworthy authority, and if they can connect personally with you. (Not be best friends, just feel like they are important to you and that you get it.)
I know! So easy, just be more likeable. But honestly, it doesn’t need to be very hard. Here are some simple but powerful tools but firs ta big disclaimer. If your patient is harmful to you in any way, you can professionally fire them. This advice below does not mean “show up and take abuse!”
- Leave your shit somewhere else. Learn how to regulate your own nervous system, develop a ritual, shake it off…do whatever it takes to show up without your mental list or bad mood showing. Yikes, that feels mean to say. But it’s true. This is their time.
- Greet them with a smile and use their name. Make them feel like you are truly happy to see them, even if you aren’t.
- Dress and style yourself in a similar way everyday, look like your photo on the website. People need to know what to expect from you.
- Listen first! Believe your patient about their pain even if it doesn’t make sense to you.
- Be the expert on massage but let them be the expert of their body. You don’t know what treatment feels like to them.
- Be humble enough to know that massage can make things worse sometimes. Ask this question when you are treating a relevant area:Does this feel better, the same, or worse than before?”
- Ask what their goal is for the session. Are you solving problems, or letting them relax? Do they want to recover from an injury or feel like their whole body was addressed?
- Ask if they need time to be silent/quiet, or need connection?
- Ask what their stress has been like lately. (This is such a powerful question and not enough massage therapists are asking it!)
- Avoid medical jargon. It reinforces the power dynamic between you and them and it’s not clear communication. You understand what you are saying, they may not.
- A word like “dysfunction” might mean “this system isn’t working optimally” to you, to them it might mean: “I’m broken.”
- Don’t lie about their injuries, and if there’s a major concern, make sure to refer them to a medical professional who can address that. But don’t make their injuries seem worse than they are. “Wow! Your back is so tight, I don’t think I’ve ever massaged someone like this before.” NOPE.That doesn’t help anyone.
Try these phrases but definitely make them your own. You need to feel and sound natural and confident:
- “It’s really great to see you, I was excited when I saw your name on my schedule for the day.”
- “Have a seat for a minute, and tell me how your body feels so I can plan the best treatment for you, I’ll get you on the table as soon as I can.”
- In response to “Does that feel tight/bad to you?”Try saying: “It’s much more important how it feels to you, I don’t always feel what you do.” Or “I can feel that this spot feels different but that doesn’t always mean anything. There’s no heat, swelling, or injured feeling tissue here. How does it feel to you?”
- “What are you hoping to get out of this treatment?” or “What’s your goal for today?”
- “Do you need time to decompress and be quiet today?”
- “Remember that your body starts healing immediately after an injury. If you can, think of this as your ‘healing’ side,not your ‘bad’ side.”
We could talk about communication forever, but the foundations are to make your patient feel valued, heard, and respected. This is both great patient-retention and just real kindness to them.
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