Crises Can Confuse Communication

People in crisis are often emotional and incoherent. 

Questions with “Yes” or “No” answers are very useful for getting information quickly.

With more subtle questions, give a "menu" of at least three possible answers to avoid the question being misinterpreted.

During a crisis, using the word "talk" to begin a conversation, "Can we talk about how you are?" often gets a negative response. The reason is that we place little value on "talk." Talk is cheap or meaningless. However, substituting the word with "speak", seems to have bette...

In a study, one group of physicians were instructed to ask their patients: "Is there anything else you want to address?" The other group were asked to say: "Is there something else you want to address?"

Conversations between doctors and parents talking about the wellbeing of a child can often look like negotiations, even if not intended.

Parents may say that they are worried that their child may have an infection and the doctor may think that the parent expects antibiotics.

Th...