You have one and your patients have one.

A story!

And they are all worth sharing.

We all learn so much from our stories.

Some people have many stories and they are excited about sharing them.

Others are less inclined to want to share their story unless asked.

We learn lessons from each other’s stories.

Our stories make us laugh, cry, be astonished, shocked and even disappointed.

Everyone’s story is worthy of sharing and listening to.

Each of your patients have a story.

Once you know your patient’s story, you can really get to know them and understand who they are. You will start to know what motivates them, what they are most concerned about and why and what gives them great joy.

You can now communicate with your patients on a more personal level.

Getting personal with your patients and personalising your business means your patients are much more likely to trust you, accept your advice and stay with you.

So many dental practices are missing out on this.

So why are we not listening to our patient’s stories when it is so important?

We so often get caught up in the busyness and routine of our place of work and don’t stop and think about the personal side.

I know in our dental practice once we started to get to know our patients on a deeper, more personal level by listening to their stories, our dental business grew and grew.

It seems so easy and it is!

Think about all the people you talk to outside of your dental practice. Start really listening to their stories.

You will soon realise how important our stories are.

Not that long ago, I travelled to Launceston to work with an amazing team who were hungry to be better. On my journey, I met a number of people.

I made a point to find out their stories by asking lots of questions.

I met Lee on my flight who was flying from Adelaide to Launceston, she was about to move house. She was unsure of the move and her cat was in the storage section of the aircraft which added to her uneasiness. She started to open up to me, and I found out so much about her life in the UK and being married to an army officer.

I also met Maggie, my taxi driver, who asked if I preferred to travel in the front or back seat, so of course I chose the front seat so I could chat. I wanted to hear her story. How about this, she was once a Dental Assistant in Zimbabwe back in the 1970’s, how fascinating.

Her boss was an interesting character who twisted children’s ears to get them to behave in the dental chair. (BTW this was back in the 70’s).

Maggie also told me, she did not tolerate misbehaviour and had thrown people out of her taxi. I was so glad at that point, that she considered me a well behaved passenger!

As I continued my conversation with Maggie, she let me know that Elvis had made one big mistake in his life, he had married Priscilla and not her.

We laughed and smiled and now Maggie is my designated Launceston taxi driver. Maggie said goodbye to me at the airport and called out of the window, “keep in touch!”

The reason I am sharing Maggie’s stories with you, is because she could be your patient. Your patient with a story to share.

Get to know your patients and their stories.

You will be amazed and how much you will learn about the.

When you know more about your patients both clinically and personally you have an opportunity to build the rapport and relationship with them that will last and last.

BTW both these people were looking for a dentist so of course I referred them both to my dentist client in Launceston!