Written by Dustie Houchin
Sometimes, the most useful question in a busy practice is: “Can you tell me a little more?”
For practitioners and practice managers, active listening means giving someone enough attention to understand their concern before deciding how to respond.
When the diary is full and several people need you at once, it’s easy to hear the first few words and start forming a solution. But the first thing someone says may only be part of the picture.
A team member says: “We haven’t got enough time between appointments.”
You might immediately think about diary capacity. Listening more closely could reveal that appointments regularly overrun, room preparation takes longer than expected, or the team is unclear about who does what.
Try asking:
“Which part of the day is most difficult?”
“What tends to happen?”
“Have I understood correctly that…?”
The same approach matters in a consultation. If a patient or client says, “I couldn’t follow the advice,” a little curiosity can help you understand what got in the way before agreeing on a workable next step.
Active listening involves a few deliberate habits:
• Pause what you’re doing and give your attention.
• Let the person finish before responding.
• Ask questions to understand, rather than confirm an assumption.
• Reflect back what you’ve heard and check you have it right.
• Agree on what happens next.
You don’t have to agree with everything someone says to take their perspective seriously.
Feeling heard can make difficult conversations more constructive—and help you make better decisions about care, teamwork and the running of your practice.
Listening doesn’t end when the conversation does. Where action is needed after a meeting, agree on who will do what and when you’ll check back. If something cannot be changed, explain why and explore what is possible. Never leave things hanging.
Put active listening into practice this week.
Choose one conversation, give the person your full attention, and check your understanding before offering a solution.
Ask: “Have I understood that correctly?” Afterwards, reflect on what you learnt—and whether it changed your response.
Initially, it may feel odd because you aren’t used to communicating in this way, but if it is done with sincerity and empathy the recipient will appreciate your honest attempt to understand.
If you or your business would benefit from training in active listening, send an email outlining your core challenges. contact@herdwickandgoose.com. We are here to help.
