Be able to prepare the setting and yourself for a hard conversation.
Setting: set the stage
S — Setting
The first step is the setting. A conversation about something hard can't happen on the go, in a hallway, in passing.
What to do: ensure privacy (a separate room, or at least a drawn curtain); offer to have family present if the person wants; sit down — a doctor who stays standing signals “I'm in a hurry”; make eye contact; turn off/put away your phone and ask not to be interrupted; decide in advance how much time you have. Prepare yourself mentally: go over the facts, get ready.
Small signals — sitting down, falling silent, looking them in the eye — tell the person: “I'm here, and I'm in no hurry.” This creates the safety in which a person can hear something hard.
Lesson notes
S — Setting
The first step is the setting. A conversation about something hard can't happen on the go, in a hallway, in passing.
What to do: ensure privacy (a separate room, or at least a drawn curtain); offer to have family present if the person wants; sit down — a doctor who stays standing signals “I'm in a hurry”; make eye contact; turn off/put away your phone and ask not to be interrupted; decide in advance how much time you have. Prepare yourself mentally: go over the facts, get ready.
Small signals — sitting down, falling silent, looking them in the eye — tell the person: “I'm here, and I'm in no hurry.” This creates the safety in which a person can hear something hard.