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Say Their Name
(Make It Personal)

Their name is on the chart, but how often do you say it? We know names matter; of course, we say our patient's name. Hearing someone say your name throughout an interaction is powerful, and there's fascinating science that backs this up. This upSKILL walks through how many times a patient should hear their name from you, and why it helps.
   2:50 Watch Time [Week 12 from the Weekly upSKILL series]
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 Real Help 

Solve these 'people problems'

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For upSKILLers:

  • Forgetting people's names and just not saying them
  • Using a patient's name once at hello and never again
  • Mispronouncing a name or feeling awkward to say it
  • Knowing how to use names to make patients feel seen and remembered, not just processed
  • Making first impressions, mid-visit moments, and goodbyes feel personal instead of routine
  • Building the same habit with teammates, friends, and family too

For Leaders:

  • Patients feeling like "just a number" because their name only gets used once
  • Team members rushing through interactions without using a patient's name throughout
  • Awkward patient name mispronunciation moments
  • Coaching team members to make every visit feel personal, at the start, middle, and end
  • Creating a more memorable patient experience without adding extra time
  • Building a team habit around using names well across split visits 
 Data 

It's science

According to psychologist Dr. Lindsay Henderson, our names are such an indispensable part of our identity that we feel validated the moment someone uses them in conversation.(1)
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Names are woven into how we see ourselves, so saying a patient's name throughout our encounter is confirmation that we see them as a person. 
Research on selective attention found that in a room full of competing noise, the one thing our brain reliably tunes into is the sound of our own name.(2)
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Even when patients are distracted, overwhelmed, or not paying close attention, hearing their own name can help you reset a moment.
Classic memory research on the "serial position effect" found that people recall the beginning and end of an experience most clearly.(3)
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We remember the first and last things in a sequence far better than what happens in the middle. That's exactly why using a patient's name at the start and the close of a visit matters so much.
 Note 

From The Experts

"This blueprint for using our patients' names applies to every role, even if your interaction is short or broken up throughout the patient's appointment. We feel validated when a person refers to us by using our name in a conversation, don't we? There's no reason to miss out on the benefits of using someone's name."
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- Christine & Lauren, The Patient Whisperers
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 SERIES 

This is adapted from Weekly: Mastering Soft Skills

by The Patient Whisperers:
Soft skills that make work and life better.
For everyone who works with patients - or interacts with humans.

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 WHO 

Meet the experts

The Patient Whisperers
Christine Scarlett
& Lauren Weaver
Former practice leaders leading change by bringing relational intelligence, soft skills + emotional connection into healthcare as authors, speakers, and upSKILL instructors. 
Get to know them here or connect on social media:
Christine Scarlett
Former CMO
& Director of Patient Experience
From counseling patients, to Director of Patient Experience, to CMO, Christine's worn nearly every 'hat' in a healthcare practice. The driving force? Her love for people... creating exceptional patient experiences and empowering those who serve them.
Lauren Weaver
Former
Director of Brand Development
Bringing her PR, branding, social media influencer status, and love of storytelling with her, Lauren turned how we market and build a brand for ourselves in healthcare upside down by redefining how we connect with our patients, both in practice and online.
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(1) As shared in this week's training, citing psychologist Dr. Lindsay Henderson. (2) Moray, N. (1959). "Attention in dichotic listening." Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 11(1), 56-60. (3) Murdock, B. B. (1962). "The serial position effect of free recall." Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(5), 482-488.