I’d taken a little writing hiatus over this last month of summer ~ but this is an important concept I have been working with our Rosen Chiropractic Coaching client’s lately as it seems to be a recurring theme.  So I wanted to share!

It is important to pre-frame some important things during our initial conversations with new people to avoid pitfalls down the road and have clear expectations about chiropractic care.

For example, after someone receives their first adjustment, it is important that you outline the different outcomes that may occur (and we don’t know how they will respond). It’s what I like to call “Door #1, Door #2, and Door #3″:

Door #1: They may feel better (a lot better)!

The pitfall is that once they feel better, they think they ARE better! We need to pre-frame this thought process by letting them know that symptoms are the last thing to appear and the first thing to go away. Just like the tip of an iceberg slipping below the surface, the symptom is gone, but the underlying pattern and what caused the symptom has not yet been addressed.

Door #2: They may not feel much change (if any)

The pitfall here is that they could be disappointed in you or your care.  Without pre-framing this, they may think that chiropractic doesn’t ‘work’ and not come back. I like the analogy of taking a vitamin for the first time to help explain and pre-frame this one – you may not feel anything right away.  There are lots of cellular changes happening but nothing perceivable as of yet.  So let them know not to be disappointed if this option occurs for them.

Door #3: They may feel worse

Eek!  The pitfall is they might think you’ve made it worse, or caused it to worsen. Without pre-framing this one, you may never get a chance to have a second conversation!  So you need to let them know that although rare, just like after exercise, that the body might have some soreness afterwards.  And because the adjustment clears interference from the nerve system, the body will be functioning better than before.  It could even have cleansing symptoms that don’t feel good, but are a sign the body is working better!

In essence, pre-framing does a few things:

1. Avoids major pitfalls or crisis conversations down the road and gives a foundation to build on for future conversations during daily interactions

2. Helps stretch their consciousness and understanding about chiropractic care and their body’s intelligence by planting good seeds

3. Improves your level of influence and leadership

Tags: communication, Leadership, Pitfalls, Pre-Frame, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching