Being able to connect with people as a leader or a dental entrepreneur is paramount to the success of your dental business.
When it comes to facial expressions, other than the cliché teenage eye-roll, or a predictable cranky expression from a marriage partner, reading people to assess responses or predict outcomes can be tricky business can’t it?
But being able to connect is a key skill for any successful dental leader.
I decided to connect with International Profiling and Communications specialist, Allen Stevens during my recent podcast, and Allen shed some light on the importance of facial-profiling for connection and communication.
So how can you quickly assess a personality? Or understand how your patients and practice staff like to process information?
And how are your stakeholders likely to respond in any given situation?
And, in what ways can you improve your interview technique?
I’ve put together these savvy tips from my conversation with Allen to help you answer these questions on how to connect better with all the people involved in ensuring the success of your dental practice…
TIP #1 Connect with your Self
Knowing more about your self can help you to understand others – What have your life experiences taught you about who you are?
Allen says, “Know yourself first of all. Know why you do what you do, and why you want to do the things you are planning to do. Understand your own personality and profile first. Then focus on and understand the other person. Then talk to them in the way that they want to be spoken to.”
Aim to learn something new about YOU every week.
TIP #2 Connect with your Patients
Knowing what a patient wants and how they will respond to your suggestions for care or advice is a brilliant communication skill. Facial-profiling is an effective tool to assist you in predicting the outcomes of patient interactions.
Most people dread coming to visit the dentist because it equates to discomfort and expense.
But dentists need to quickly put our patients at ease for a couple of key reasons:
Reason #1:
We want the patient to have a positive, memorable experience.
Reason #2:
When the patient is relaxed, we relax too.
We need to communicate with patients based on how much information they need and want, and in what ways they best process information.
I learnt from Allen that people that have a fold of skin with the eyelid straight underneath when they look forward tend to want more detailed information.
However, people with no fold in this place by the eyelids, simply want the bigger picture; and tend to be quick decision-makers.
So, this may be a useful indicator for you when meeting new patients.
One of the key drivers of building and maintaining relationships across all aspects of life, is trust.
Understand who the patient is and what they value. Take the time to really connect and to engage. Then the relationship will develop, trust will develop and patient retention will follow.
TIP #3 Connect better with your trusted key people such as your Practice Manager
Some of us rely on psychometric evaluations when it comes to hiring or promoting someone to a practice management or senior technical position.
And these assessments are effective as part of the hiring process. But your current management strategies can be further enhanced with the use of facial-profiling.
We can glean more thorough information about the people we are working with day-to-day by noticing little facial responses as we engage with them.
And in the long run, this can allow us to understand them better, and communicate and connect more effectively with our staff. This is critical for those we rely on to deliver results within our practice.
TIP #4 Connect with your Staff
Without connection, the people in your practice are disengaged, they just do what they have to do to get through the day.
But, a true leader connects with the people they’re leading – this is how you get the best out of your staff!
And ultimately, if you can better connect with your team, they will feel more deeply engaged.
Staff satisfaction may increase too, and with that, their overall alignment with the purpose and goals of your dental business.
As your team grow their connections with your practice, they will make better connections with your patients. The patient experience will deepen and loyalty will strengthen.
This leaves you with more time and energy to continue your entrepreneurial activities.
Remember… This connection begins as early as the interview process.
TIP #5 Connect with your Family and Friends
Lastly, we must connect with our family and friends to create balance in our lives.
This is especially important in the modern world of technology where interpersonal communication is diminished. We can make the most of limited face-to-face time by understanding the facial indicators and nuances that give us hints as to how people are feeling and thinking.
A FEW FINAL WORDS
Ultimately, if you have all these bases covered, then you are going to be well informed about the key players in your life, and benefit from long-lasting trusting relationships.
If you want some more in-depth pointers on how to read facial expressions then make sure you listen to my podcast conversation with Allen Stevens.
And for those wanting more leadership skills, we still have a select few places on the two-day Practice Max workshop in June, click here to find out more and to register: Dr Jesse Green Presents Build and Lead a High Performance Team.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready …. here are 4 ways I can help you grow your dental practice:
- Grab a free chapter from my book “Retention – How to Plug the #1 Profit Leak in Your Dental Practice”
The book is the definitive guide to patient retention and how to use internal marketing to grow your practice – Click Here
- Join the Savvy Dentist community and connect with dentists who are scaling their practice too
It’s our Facebook group where clever dentists learn to become commercially smart so that they have more patients, more profit and less stress. – Click Here
- Attend a Practice Max Intensive live event
Our 2 day immersive events provide access to the latest entrepreneurial thinking and actionable strategies to drive your practice forward. You’ll leave with a game plan to take your results to the next level. If you’d like to join us, just send me a message with the word “Event and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here
- Work with me and my team privately
If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to take your profit from 6 figures to 7 figures …. just send me a message with the word “Private”… tell me a little about your practice and what you would like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here
