Roll Calls: Talk Smart

Roll Calls Series

7

Talk Smart Provide Information 1

Talk Smart

Spoken Words

Clear & specific

Voice, Tone

Moderate volume, moderate speed, low pitch preferred

Body Language

Well groomed, eye contact, alert body language

S2 Notes Notes: The model you see here is attributed to Professor Albert Mehrabian who pioneered the understanding of communications since the 1960's. He established this classic statistic for the effectiveness of spoken communications: • 7% of meaning is in the words that are spoken. • 38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said). • 55% of meaning is in facial expression. The model is particularly useful in illustrating the importance of factors other than words alone when trying to convey meaning (as the speaker) or interpret meaning (as the listener). It is also useful in assessing the impact of email, telephone or physical meeting up to discuss in the case of communicating vital issues or those situations which are emotionally charged. Specific standards when using the model is provided in the table. a) Highlight that appropriate word choice refers to words that communicate clearly, specifically and precisely. b) Tone of voice is conveyed by the speed at which we speak, the volume we use and the pitch of our voice. Like body language, they communicate our attitude. c) The importance of body language is again emphasized here – communicate care, alertness and interest through the way we look at the customer and the way we carry ourselves. d) When all 3 aspects are used appropriately, they convey CARE, EMPATHY & PROFESSIONALISM.

How Can We Be Smarter? (1) Learning from what our customers say…

“Attitude at XXX is truly very undesirable. The waiting time is unreasonable. The staff are chatting with one another while I waited in pain for just a bed to lie on. I checked with them why the long wait, the answer they gave : "Because this is a government hospital." What sort of answer is this. I'm planning to complain to SPH and this will be printed in the newspaper.”

“Your appointment times are the most unreliable in the hospital I have ever visited. SGH, has improved in their waiting time as they are more accurate. In Tan Tock Seng, I noticed that the patient queue moves faster during lunch time. Wonder why. They were patients who were slotted in before us even though we came earlier & your queue number did not serve any purpose at all.” It’s high time that TTSH looks into it.”

“Today is the third time I came to the pharmacy to check on the above product to buy. I learnt that the promoter was on leave & have no one to attend to me. If this is the case do not promote items like these - display empty boxes! One promoter (a tall woman in black) said I will check for you but went into the room & did not come out - idiot of her.”

How Can We Be Smarter? (2) “Hello there… I would like to highlight that one of my sisters is in ICU ward XXX, she told me that one of your nurses slapped her hand on her left side stomach (she had just one of kidneys removed). However, when my sister stared at her, she said sorry as it was unintentional. Come on, one can surely differentiate which is deliberate or not, she sounded like a foreigner nurse, Just a word of reminder… Please educate your nurses to care for their patients, otherwise just look for another job!!! Thank you.”

Learning from what our customers say… “My mom was admitted to XXX ward after A&E, she was in due to 'epilepsy'. She was placed @ bed 66 at around 9am and was transferred to bed 36 @ around 9pm due to doctor's instruction of 'extra care' required by the nurses. I personally experienced that the response time by the nurses on 27/04/09 was poor. The ' bell ' was activated by my mom that she needed to go to toilet but was kept waiting for around 10 -15min. At night while @ bed 36, she had a ' epilepsy ' relapse but no nurses saw it. Luckily my sister arrived in the nick of time to quickly alert the nurses. How could this happen?”

“We had a very unpleasant experience here in your XXX, my mum was having a serious cough and we were left seated waiting for 2 hrs aimlessly. We tried to make enquiry to your staff three times and no explanation was given. It was a non-busy day where there was only one patient at the waiting area. It would be appreciative if the hospital could review the waiting time and provide means of managing long waiting period. In other hospitals, there is a system with phone SMS facility to inform patient if they are next in the queue. I am really losing patience to be kept waiting without updates”.

S3 Notes Notes: • You may pin the case studies up on your notice board. • Look at the case studies and identify what went wrong. • Look specifically at what can be done to improve such situations. Situations arising out of the case studies include: a) Information managing wait times b) Departmental/product information when relevant staff is not around c) How to communicate perceived mistakes (say sorry) d) Providing updates e) Answering an irate or flustered customer • Generate some ideas. You’ll be surprised what you can come up with. Ideas may fall into the following categories: a) Process flow b) POPs (point-of-purchase) communication such as posters, notices etc. that you may wish to put up at the counter or patient areas c) Choice of words or scripts in emotionally charged situations

Talk Smart Follow-Up Activities (Energizer Games) Words Alone Purpose: To demonstrate how important it is to engage all our faculties when communicating. Materials Needed: Small pieces of paper with one of the following words on each: Sickness, Care, Happiness, Clinic , Health etc. Procedure: Ask 4 staff to each pick a word and describe what is written to the group. The word on the paper itself may not be used. Tell them to concentrate on the careful choice of words, avoiding non-verbal signals as much as possible. Use descriptive words relating to all five senses (smell, touch, etc...) Questions: 1. How efficient were words alone in expressing ideas? 2. How did you feel ? (talker and listener) 3. What does this remind us to do in our own communication? Giants, Wizards and Elves (Team Communication) Purpose: This is a team approach to the ancient game of SCISSORS, PAPER, STONE to encourage communication and teamwork. Procedure: Wizards cast spells on giants. Giants squish elves. Elves are small and quick and outsmart wizards. The game begins with teams huddling together, planning how they will communicate and deciding which creatures the team will be. The entire team must be the same creature at the same time. As soon as the teams have decided on their creature, they line up face to face with the opposing team, in rows about four feet apart. On the leader's command team members jump to their pose. A point is scored on the basis of which creature beats which. If both teams form the same creature, no point is scored. Play up to 5 rounds max. Motions: Giants - Stand tall. Arms straight over head. Fingers curled ready to grab. Voices give a loud "growl.“ Wizards - Crouch slightly. Arms extended, fingers extended to cast spell. Eyes lurk behind arms. Voice a wizardry "hiss.“ Elves Crouch down on haunches. Hands and arms in front puppy style. Voice one loud "ha.“ Questions: 1. How did they communicate once the game started? 2. What communication problems did they face? 3. What can they do to overcome these problems?