Carry the skill into your own practice: make a personal plan for an upcoming difficult conversation.
Make it your own
From the protocol to your practice
SPIKES isn't a script you read out; it's a frame you hang your own words on — real, living words. The best thing you can do now is try it on a real situation that's waiting for you: a conversation with a patient, a family member, an employee.
In the next exercise, sketch your plan across the six steps: how you'll set up the conversation, what words you'll use to start finding out (P), how you'll give the warning and phrase the news without jargon (K), which empathic phrases you'll keep ready (E), what plan and summary you'll offer (S). This is your personal checklist — you can come back to it before every difficult conversation.
Lesson notes
From the protocol to your practice
SPIKES isn't a script you read out; it's a frame you hang your own words on — real, living words. The best thing you can do now is try it on a real situation that's waiting for you: a conversation with a patient, a family member, an employee.
In the next exercise, sketch your plan across the six steps: how you'll set up the conversation, what words you'll use to start finding out (P), how you'll give the warning and phrase the news without jargon (K), which empathic phrases you'll keep ready (E), what plan and summary you'll offer (S). This is your personal checklist — you can come back to it before every difficult conversation.