Supplement: All is Well

Dental World Second Supplement

Nonverbal Communication

What it Looks Like You’re Saying

As social animals, we have instincts over which we have very little control. Nonverbal communication is very primitive and falls into this category.

As social animals, our instinct is to take and repeat cues from others about the safety of our environment. Even though we’re in safe, modern environments, we still look for these cues. And despite our modern safety, we still instinctually follow them.

Because these are instinctual responses, we don’t necessarily notice them. We just find ourselves feeling better or worse around certain people in certain situations. All of this is compounded by the fact that many of us use body language unintentionally. We “say” things we don’t mean to “say” with our bodies. That’s why we’ll share the basic cues in nonverbal communication in this section.

You are the expert in this environment. Your uniform says that. How you appear to feel about this place, is significant to the patient in a deeply rooted, unforgettable way.

The way you appear to feel about this place is how they will feel about this place.

So it’s helpful to make sure we’re not accidentally creating tension or ambiguity by using negative body language.

We’ve all seen these lists, but it’s helpful to get the list again in context with the rest of the conversation we’re having.