Health Literacy and Communication for Health Professionals
Access: Providing Plain Health Information to People 6.3
Oral communication strategies
Easy to understand communication may mean using everyday words known as living room language
or kitchen table talk with the public instead of medical vocabulary or abbreviations and acronyms.
It is important to remember that you will need to use some medical terms at times and when you do,
you will need to include an explanation or definition.
Examples of technical terms and more user-centered terms as substitutes:
Active Listening
Did you know that 40-80% of medical information is forgotten immediately and almost half of that
information is remembered incorrectly? In other words, the more information given, the more
information that is forgotten. By practicing active listening skills it will help you build a rapport and
trust with your patients.
Ways to incorporate active listening into your daily practice:
·ð Make Eye contact with the person you are talking with
·ð Stand or sit so you are on the same physical level as the patient
·ð Nod your head when you agree with what is being said
·ð Take notes
·ð Summarize what the person has said
·ð Watch for non-verbal signals that can denote confusion
Remember to use kitchen table talk and practice effective communication and listening strategies to
ensure health literate oral communications.