The Right Amount of Communication

This Dental Receptionist resource document focuses on the most efficient way to communicate with your team members and doctors and be effective through your communication.

The Right Amount of Communication

Tips for Good Communication

If your goal is to fully understand and connect with the other person, listening effectively will often come naturally. Below are some tips to help you communicate better. The more you practice them, the more effective and rewarding your interactions with others will become.

• Focus fully on the speaker, his or her body language, and other nonverbal cues. If you’re daydreaming, checking text messages, or doodling, you’re almost certain to miss nonverbal cues in the conversation. If you find it hard to concentrate on some speakers, try repeating their words over in your head—it will reinforce their message and help you stay focused.
• Avoid interrupting or trying to redirect the conversation to your concerns, by saying something like, “If you think that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me.” Listening is not the same as waiting for your turn to talk. You can’t concentrate on what someone’s saying if you’re forming what you’re going to say next. Often, the speaker can read your facial expressions and know that your mind is elsewhere.

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