Relate & Retain

Sarah Breymeier

Many times before sit down and figure out what I want to discuss in a given month’s newsletter, I decompress by watching – well, everything. From “trash” reality TV to Oscar-winning dramas, I am often surprised by the unexpected insight I extract.

Last week I digested “Oppenheimer.” If you’re not aware of the movie, it is the story of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer – the director of the Manhattan Project (development of the atomic bomb during WWII).

Don’t worry – this post is NOT THAT HEAVY.

After watching, I went down my usual rabbit hole of researching everything about this human as if he just suddenly became known. What I found useful for this newsletter was the reasons why Oppenheimer was selected for the position of Director of the Manhattan Project; because, apparently, there were other geniuses who may have seemed more fit for the task.

Instead of trying to hard to explain, I’ll simply direct you to the segment that got me thinking about client/patient communication.

CLICK BELOW AND FAST-FORWARD TO MINUTE 30:00

Relevant clip from 0:30:00 – 0:32:37

Hopefully you are gathering that the point here is to USE THE LANGUAGE THAT SUITS YOUR AUDIENCE.

Oppenheimer sounded like a physicist when he was around other physicists; but he was socially aware enough to know that in order to get meaningful ideas across to anybody else, layman’s terms needed to be utilized.

It’s not uncommon to see individuals of higher education and/or experiences using jargon that is not familiar to most. Sometimes this is an accident, but other times it could be because the intelligent person thinks it is impressive. WRONG.

It’s not going to get you the results you desire. Sounding smart is different than actually being smart. The smart choice is to relate to your audience to achieve your goal. If you are at a conference and your audience members are your peers – using 15-letter words is a go! Not in the clinic.

Make your patients feel safe; make them feel heard; make them feel like they can relate to you and watch your retention grow.

Thoughts? Questions? Email Me!

Sarah Breymeier: beheard@podiatrymeetings.com