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Dad Joke: I'm making a new documentary on how to fly a plane. We're currently filming the pilot.

Song of the Week: Beds are burning, Midnight Oil​

There are some events in life that are just memorable. Like you remember what you were wearing, who you were with and what the sky looked like that day.

The Birth Story is one of these events, another is having a colicky baby.

To give a good example…my wife showed me a Facebook post this morning from a very anxious 17-week pregnant lady living as an expat in China. It had been explained to her at the hospital after a scan, in broken communication, that the cord was around her baby’s neck. She had been told not to worry.

So…you and I know that this happens and it’s usually all good in terms of outcomes…but she doesn’t know that and she 100% doesn’t trust the system she is in…so she asks for help on social media and this is where things get really interesting.

Instead of people just saying, “you’re fine” and “don’t stress” they are instead recounting their birth stories. The amazing thing is the clarity with which they are writing. Explaining how many loops were around their baby’s neck, how many weeks they were when they found out.

What a great organic lesson in communication…story telling. When people really want to communicate something important to them, they tell you the story. It’s one thing to say “it’s fine” but quite another to “show your working” and give a real-life scenario that people can relate to. Story telling in practice is such an effective communication tool. (how "Inception" was that!!! I just told you a story about storytelling, lol)

But also…

I’ve had it countless times in practice where a granny who's come along to the appointment gleefully tells the story of how their daughter used to keep them up all night (like the baby is now doing to them). The clarity with which they remember these stories. What the room looked like, what window they used to look out of, the mug which was always full of cold tea.

It reminds me of a research project I read years ago where they looked at the recall detail of mums of colic babies. Current sufferers, a few months later to years and years later. The interesting thing? The ability to recall the details doesn’t fade. It’s one of “those events”.

And this is why it is so important that we communicate effectively. We are operating in one of “those events”. Where parents need the right information at the right time in the right way. And above all…they will remember how they felt…and it’s that feeling that will make you a trusted resource or a quickly forgettable encounter.

Oddly enough the next live Connected Paediatrics session is about building your paediatric Report of Findings. How to get the right information across in a way that is sticky enough that parents “get” it.

Chat soon,

Mike

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Connected Paediatrics – Dr Mike Marinus is a registered paediatric chiropractor treating babies and children and helping chiropractors learn effective paediatric techniques that they can use in their practice

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