Mastering Verbal Skills – Part 2

Episode #356 with Jenni Poulos

In part one of Mastering Verbal Skills, Kirk Behrendt and Jenni Poulos discussed how words carry weight and why language matters in your practice. In today’s lesson, Jenni explains why listening also matters and how critical it is for mastering verbal skills. With the templates they provide, you can learn how to listen to and answer some of the most difficult questions patients ask! For more on active listening and communication, listen to Episode 356 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Listening is also a crucial part of verbal skills.

Improving verbal skills will open up possibilities.

Language helps differentiate and communicate your practice’s strengths.

You can communicate value to your patients using appropriate language.

Use the “feel, felt, found” concept to discuss difficult patient questions.

Quotes:

“What we say matters. How we say it matters. How we lean in, and how we’re curious, and how we listen matters. And listening is as big a part of verbal skills as is speaking. It affects our relationships with our team members. It affects our relationships with our patients, our case closure, the predictability of our days, our lives. So, it’s super important.” (1:49—2:18)

“[A typical comment from patients is], ‘I'm only going to do it if it’s covered.’ And we have to move patients past this limiting belief that their insurance exists to provide them with optimal health, because we believe that, ‘If my insurance says that I can't have it paid for, then I don't need it,’ and that could not be farther from the truth.” (3:55—4:18)

“Our understanding of insurance is completely rooted in the way that medical insurance functions. Medical insurance and dental insurance do not function in the same way at all. So, we want to differentiate by changing the language. We don't want to call it “insurance” because it doesn't function how you understand insurance. It’s not a full-loss item. It’s a benefit that will assist, but it’s not going to cover everything. It was never intended to, nor will it, ever.” (5:11—5:48)

“People are advocating to use their benefits because they have them. I don't want you to look at their benefits as the enemy, just how do we communicate the way that we do it in our office, the way that we utilize benefits, in order to move patients through to acceptance.” (6:33—6:51)

“Write this down. It’s a great phrase and it will help you with this question. ‘What I want you to understand, Mrs. Jones, is that your benefits exist to help you maintain, but not to obtain, oral health.’ That's a great way to think about them.” (7:02—7:21)

“People pay for the things that they value. We will invest in what we value. I like to joke about this, but I say this with my team, ‘Oh, your Coach bag goes so great with your Class IV perio disease.’ I have invested thousands of dollars in a purse. If I value my health, I probably will invest an equal amount in that. So, it’s important that we’re able to convey value and help patients see value and lead them to the value that is there. And if you can believe it and confidently communicate it, the patients will have an easier time seeing it.” (11:14—11:56)

“People may not know this, but [insurance companies] actually can come back and say — up to a year later — ‘Hey, we overpaid, and we need some money back.’ You may preauthorize, get payment, and be told in eight months, ‘I need money back.’ So, there is never a guarantee of payment from the dental insurance companies. Never tell your patients that there is a guaranteed payment. It is always only an estimate. Even after the check has cleared the bank, it is still not a guarantee.” (12:05—12:39)

“Unless your patient, and there are instances in which they are part of an