Eric Vickery discusses the power of gaining permission in crucial conversations, emphasizing clear communication and empowering both parties.
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About Eric Vickery
Eric holds a degree in business administration and brings a strong business and systems approach to his consulting. His initiation into the field of dentistry was in the area of office management. He managed dental practices for over ten years and has been consulting over 250 offices nationwide since 2001.
Episode Transcript
Transcript performed by A.I. Please excuse the typos.
00:03
Hi friends. Welcome to your weekly motivational moments with Eric Vickery, president of coaching at All-Star Dental Academy. This week, I want to talk to you about gaining permission. So we just recently talked about crucial conversations and in that, getting permission to communicate with someone is a part of it. With your patients, they’re wanting to know that they have permission to communicate back and forth with you on their treatment, on their plan.
00:34
And so I want to talk to you about the importance of this and how to effectively use gaining permission. So understand this. Number one, all of us have some sort of, sort of fear of rejection. And so if I’m having a crucial conversation with someone from a leadership standpoint, I’m worried about how they’re going to receive this. If I am going to talk to a patient about problems I’m diagnosing in their mouth. I’m
01:02
at some level worried about how they’re going to perceive this. Am I trying to sell them something? Are they worried about that? And so, am I diagnosing wallets? Am I afraid of being shot as the messenger in some sense? The permission statement is a great way to overcome that, prevent that. And what I also want you to remember is there’s someone on the other side of that conversation who also has some sort of fear in that conversation. For example, in a crucial conversation, if you’re the leadership and you’re using
01:31
gaining permission with them and you say, hey, I want to be able to talk to you about this. This is really important to me. I want to be comfortable sharing everything with you. They also have some fears about where this is going, getting called to the office or your patient sitting in the chair. They’re afraid you’re going to sell them something. For example, have you ever gone in to do an exam and the patient says, don’t find anything today, doc. This is the perfect example or admin, you’ve heard this.
01:57
They walk out the front and they quote, need a crown. And the patient says to the administrative team member, oh, doctor must need a new car, or I must need to make that car payment this month, or kids must need to pay for a college tuition. That is that fear that’s being verbalized inside that you’re just trying to sell them something. So remember your permission statement has two parts. Give yourself permission to communicate clearly with someone, which I’ll review, and also give them permission.
02:25
to receive it and accept it and not feel like it’s pressure. So if I were talking to a patient, I would say it like this, Ricky Bobby, I’m gonna be doing an exam today and I’d like to be able to share with you everything I see that would deserve your attention. Is that okay with you? And they’re gonna say, yeah, sure. That’s what I’m here for. It’s kind of a no brainer. You’re doing that so you don’t feel the pressure of being shot as the messenger, right? Now,
02:51
They still have some nerves, they still have some reservations, so you’re going to address that in the second part. And you say, and just know this, Joey, in our practice, you’re in the driver’s seat. Once we ever talk about issues we see and if we make recommendations, you get to make a decision on what pace you’re moving forward with those recommendations. Does that sound fair to you? Always finish with those questions. Does that make sense? Does that sound fair? And what you’re going to see is that patient just relax and go, okay, so.
03:19
You’re not going to try to pressure sell me today. Same thing with your team members. Get permission to communicate, give them permission to dialogue, give them permission to be in control of the decisions of this, right? So remember this week, gain permission in your conversations, whether it’s financial arrangements, period charting for hygienists, doctors doing hygiene or new patient exams, or leadership, communicating with your team members, team member to team member, all of this works together, even in your crucial conversations, right? Even with your patients.
03:49
Go out and make it a great.
03:53
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Dental All-Stars. Visit us online at allstardentalacademy.com
