One of the biggest classic blunders chiropractors make is to forget they are human first and doctor second. What do I mean?  They are so quick to jump on ‘teaching or telling’ the person in front of them what they think (they are the doctor, aren’t they?), before they really find out what is going on and clarifying the person’s question or statement.

During the Daily Interactions in your office, my favourite question to ask someone who has a question or a concern is,”Why do you think that is”? Assuming we’ve nailed our Visit 1 and 2 communications, we can use this question to help make the picture bigger without lecturing people. The old Ask vs. Tell!

“Doc, my neck hurts more today”, is a good example. The assertive chiropractor comes out with both guns of blame and shame blazing, “What’d you do to wreck yourself”?  The non-assertive chiropractor doesn’t address the concern with a meek, “Okay” response.

We coach our chiropractors to not get caught up how they want to respond but to connect with the person in front of them and clarify what they mean. “Why do you think that is”, is a good start. This little question allows us to:

1. Check in with them and find out what is really going on

2. Help them come to the answer, by asking questions and without you lecturing them (which concurrently creates less resistance and more ownership)

3. Connect the dots for them so that they get it! For example, “Wow, Mr. So & So, your neck is bothering you more today?  Why do you think that is? The last time this was subluxated, do you remember what lifestyle stress you were having then? Yes, it was stress “X”. Have you been having stress “X” again? Interesting… What do you think about that? Can you see that this lifestyle stress is recreating this subluxation?

We need to ensure that every visit people feel valued, given a voice to speak their thoughts, feelings or concerns and that there is a chance for us to give specific feedback.  We are either going to Celebrate & Educate or Commiserate & Educate. And what do we want them to get from our education?

1. The way I live my life can either recreate subluxations or help me stop recreating subluxations

2.  If I have subluxations, there is limited life force getting to my cells, my body is not healing or  functioning at it’s optimum, and I am not living at my greatest potential

If the people in your office are not able to give you the “Whole Story“, give us a call and we’ll help figure out how to communicate this and THRIVE in a True Wellness Model of Chiropractic Practice!

Tags: Ask vs. Tell, Challenges, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Education, Chiropractic Practice Challenges, communication, wellness chiropractic practice management

Do you remember what finals week was like in chiropractic school?  Long hours, pushing through exhaustion, getting your studying done. Not that it was healthy, or how you would want to function long term, but sometimes we have to hear Dr. Sid’s voice saying, “Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you like it or not”.

I find many chiropractors forget what it’s like to have the pedal to the metal. They are used to being on cruise control.  As chiropractic coaches and consultants, we work with our chiropractors to shift their communications and procedures to a TRUE Wellness Model of practice. And sometimes they get halfway through establishing a new (and stronger) foundation of Visit 1 and 2 and get stopped.  They feel overwhelmed and frustrated. And we have remember that, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.

The truth is, having a successful chiropractic practice is simple, but not easy. If it was, everyone including you, would already be thriving.  Keep in mind your results in practice are directly proportionate to your communication skills and our level of certainty.  And if we want to change the results we are getting, we have to not only change our procedures and skills, we have to also change ourselves. Sometimes we have to push through with motivation like it’s finals week, to get to the next level. Without this push through The Dip, we’ll never get the results and changes we are looking for in a timely manner.  And we all want results yesterday!

Are you ready to take your practice to the next level? Do you want to thrive in a TRUE Wellness Model? If you’re ready to work, we’re ready to help!

Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, finals week, frustration, hard work, overwhelm, Results, The Dip

In the book, Change or Die by Alan Deutschman he studies the 3 keys of change, and what works and doesn’t work.

In a recent blog post, Ask vs. Tell, I explored the power of asking questions to shift consciousness, beliefs and therefore behaviours.   This follow-up post is meant to look at the two types of questions we can ask: Scare Questions or Care Questions. What do I mean?

A good portion of our profession and practice management companies uses scare tactics and fear to manipulate people to do what we want.  Our perspective, at Rosen Chiropractic Coaching is that fear and manipulation have no place in a chiropractic wellness model.  We stand for clean communication with compassion.

In Change or Die, Alan Deutschman explores the three “F” words: Force, Facts and Fear and why they don’t work. When the three “F” words become too much, people go into denial as a protective mechanism. They make irrational decisions that could cost them their life (only 10% of heart attack patients changed their lifestyle despite the fear and threats).  In contrast, Dr. Dean Ornish had 75% of heart attack patients change their lifestyle with the three “R” words: Relate, Reframe, Repeat.

So we need to relate to the people we care for. We need to build rapport, bond, connect, offer hope and relieve their fears.  We need to reframe their consciousness and beliefs about health, and ask questions to shift their current paradigm, to plant seeds and teach under the radar. And we need to repeat these questions in our daily interactions, our Touch-Tell-Ask-Teach and find ways for people to become successful every visit, working towards a new goal. We as their doctor, need to lead them, inspire them and empower them.  And we need to create a culture in our office creates a supportive community.

Because making changes in life can be challenging and these new behaviours need to be reinforced with love and support, not fear and commitment. This is exactly what we do at Rosen Coaching to help you have a thriving wellness practice! We address the 3 R’s in the LAASR Mastery process. If you want a communication system based on the 3 R’s then give us a call!

Tags: Alan Deutschman, Ask vs. Tell, care tactics, Change or Die, Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Wellness Model, communication, Denial, Facts, Fear, Fear Tactics, Force, Leadership, Reframe, Relate, Repeat, scare tactics, Scare vs. Care, True Wellness Model, wellness chiropractic practice management

Thank You To Bill Esteb, www.patientmedia.com, for allowing me to share this simple yet powerful post of his with you!

Tags: Bill Esteb, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Practice Success, Duality, Law of Opposites, Patient Media, Universal Laws