Speaking and Writing Professionally

Chapter 6


Speaking and Writing Professionally



Themes to Consider



image Learn how to speak in a professional manner.


image Communicate effectively through writing by using and following grammar and spelling guidelines.


image Adopt a writing style that is suitable to your audience.


image Use your writing skills to contribute to your profession.




Learning Objectives for Speaking Professionally in Your Workplace




Right or wrong, we are often judged by the way we speak. When you use proper grammar, tone, and vocabulary for work-related conversations, the chance that you will be heard, respected, and understood is much greater. However, one of the best ways to become successful in your field is to use the language of your profession appropriately and speak professionally.



Mend your speech a little lest you mar your fortunes.


—William Shakespeare


When the language you use is incorrect, you may appear to lack knowledge or credibility, which can make your audience feel uncomfortable. You don’t want to elicit these feelings from employers, co-workers, or patients. Fortunately, you can practice to improve the quality of your speech at work.



image What if?


What if a co-worker was describing the busy morning schedule to the office manager and you overheard her say, “Then I had four stupid calls in a row!”


What do you think of how your co-worker expressed herself?


What do you think the office manager is thinking about your co-worker?


How would you explain to your co-worker that her words may have offended the office manager? What might she have said instead?



Speaking at Work


Consider all the different types of speaking you engage in at work, and estimate how much time you spend talking, listening, and interacting. You communicate all day long. You interact with your supervisor and co-workers to learn, exchange information, and advance your causes and concerns. In meetings, you will be called upon to offer your ideas and input regarding the issues of the day. You may be called upon to make presentations, short and long. You may present a patient’s case or explain your ideas and proposals. Most importantly, you interact with patients by welcoming them, collecting their information, assessing their needs, preparing them for treatments, explaining procedures, and scheduling their appointments. Finally, you speak socially to inform, communicate, share, and even entertain. Speaking well at work is key to your effectiveness, success, and career.



Aspects of Professional Speech


Casual Speaking Is Not Professional Speaking


Think about conversations that you have with family and friends throughout the day. These conversations are likely to be casual and contain familiar language that you use when speaking to people who already know you. Do you use certain popular words, such as “whatever?” Using slang is inappropriate in the workplace, so you might have to reword some of your favorite phrases. Of course, profanity is never acceptable at work.



image Journaling 6-1


Describe the way you speak. Are you too formal or familiar? Differentiate between speaking with friends and with co-workers. Make a list of common phrases you say when you are not at work, state their meaning, and write out substitutions using more professional language.


When health care team members speak to one another, many levels of communication occur. Some experts believe that what you say is less important than your tone of voice, your word choice, and your body language. In addition, your audience, location, and comfort level will affect the quality of your communication. You can see these differences for yourself if you pause to notice that your break room conversations are casual, in contrast with discussions in front of patients. Speaking professionally requires you to stop and think before you speak. You will have to rephrase what you might be thinking to express only those thoughts that are acceptable in professional situations. The first rule of all communication is to always identify your audience, so you may speak appropriately in all situations.



The Sound of Your Voice


The tone of your voice affects how people will perceive you, although there is a limit to what you can do to change the sound of your voice. If you have a high-pitched squeaky voice or a low-pitched gravelly voice, try to develop a pleasing tone somewhere between the two extremes. The manner of your speech is important as well. Speaking too fast or too slow, too loud or too soft, can be off-putting to your audience. Maintain eye contact with your audience, and remember that smiles are universal.



It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.


—Frank Luntz


When interacting with patients, you want to instill confidence by sounding authoritative, both in what you say and how you say it. Your voice should be strong, delivered with a confident smile. Pronounce words correctly, starting with the patient’s name. If you don’t know how to pronounce the patient’s name correctly, ask. Patients are pleased that you care enough to ask. Using words such as “uh” to fill silence is a defense mechanism you might use to hold the floor while you gather your thoughts. You can still command attention by speaking slowly and pausing frequently. Become aware of these fillers and work to purge them from your speech.





Read to Speak, Read to Succeed


Reading helps you build the tools you need to become a better speaker.


Employers and co-workers value employees who are well read. Read a newspaper every day or watch the evening news to raise your awareness of current events and advances in medicine. You will always have something interesting to talk about, and you will be aware of what others are talking about. Being informed is the best way to contribute to conversations at work.



Read to Build Your Vocabulary


Reading is the single best way to improve your vocabulary. When you know more words, you have more ability to gain insight. You can differentiate more finely between similar characteristics. For instance, if you know the difference between a pale and an ashen complexion, you know whether to be concerned or not.


Moreover, a more diverse, colorful vocabulary commands attention and makes you more interesting. Instead of concentrating on big words that others will not know, use smaller words that are heard less often but convey the same meaning.


Expanding your vocabulary means reading more challenging material, which can be difficult. If you’re not comprehending the message, examine the context. The words used around an unfamiliar word or concept will usually give you clues to the meaning of the new word. Bookmark a dictionary website on your computer and stick it on your toolbar so you will always have immediate access to it. You may also want to keep a print dictionary nearby while you are reading to reduce frustration when you encounter new words.


Keep a list of unfamiliar words handy. In your spare time, review them, pronounce them, and use them in a sentence. Research shows if you use the word seven times, it will become part of your vocabulary. Additional tips for building your vocabulary are listed in Box 6-1.



Box 6-1   Tips on How to Improve Your Vocabulary




image Choose words deliberately based on your professional or personal need. You will be more successful when your motivation is clear.


image Collect new words as you read the newspaper.


image Establish a place to collect words you want to add to your vocabulary and adopt a methodology for learning them, such as writing sentences with them or working them into conversations.


image Learn how to correctly pronounce and spell each new word as you learn it. You never want to mispronounce or misspell a word you are trying to acquire.


image Look for prefixes, suffixes, and root words you already know. Try to understand how they contribute to the meaning of the new word.


image Use a thesaurus as well as a dictionary. Every word carries its own unique meaning. Understand the essential differences between words and their synonyms.


image Be aware of words that present usage problems. For example, enervated and energized are opposites, not synonyms. Study the differences between affect and effect, and use them correctly.



Edit Your Own Talk


Too Much Information!


Conversations with supervisors, co-workers, and patients may include many topics both personal and professional. It is acceptable to share small details of your life with those you see every day. In fact, you might be thought of as rigid if you did not share some aspect of your life. Don’t share too much. A detailed conversation about last night’s escapades is never appropriate at work. Likewise, discussions about your health, salary, or relationships should be reserved for friends and family.




A Note to Non-Native Speakers of English


If English is not your first language, you have both an advantage and a disadvantage. Speaking another language fluently is often desirable in health care, but if you have a pronounced accent, people may have a difficult time understanding you. Speak slowly and clearly.


Note that speaking in a language other than English in the workplace may alienate co-workers and patients. Right or wrong, the perception is that you must be saying something negative when you exclude others from conversation. Plus, you cannot tell who can understand you based on appearances. If your office is bilingual, it is considered a courtesy to switch to English if you are joined by those who speak only English. Still, co-workers will appreciate it when you help them communicate with a patient whom they are unable to understand.



Case Study 6-1   The Best People in the World


Dr. Avila was nervous about introducing his new office manager to the medical assistants and the support staff. As the managing partner of a large practice of over 75 physicians, Dr. Avila was acutely aware of the importance of this position and the success of the person chosen. He had passed on several senior staff members who had long been trusted employees of the practice, because they just weren’t quite what he felt the practice needed. He wanted a real professional, an excellent communicator, and a warm individual to fill the position.


He was about to introduce his choice, Robert Candalaria, to the group of almost 200 staff members. Although Dr. Avila was uncomfortable in front of large audiences, he mumbled his way through an unremarkable introduction. He felt relieved to walk off the stage to the sound of applause, shaking Robert’s hand as they passed at the corner of the stage.


Robert stepped quickly to the podium. “You know, the best thing that any of us can do is give our very best to care for the people we actually come into personal contact with. Those are the people we are in the best position to help, the ones who come to this practice for help. They are our customers. We are here to serve them.” He had walked up the aisle and stopped next to a middle-aged man whom Dr. Avila said was one of the people who had applied for the job that went to Robert. “I’m Robert,” he said, extending his hand. “LeRoy,” said the man, surprised and annoyed.


“LeRoy Walker?” asked Robert. The man nodded. “LeRoy, haven’t you been managing things on an interim basis since my predecessor left?” LeRoy nodded again, a little less annoyed. “Thank you, LeRoy, for your service,” said Robert. “I already know you’ve made my job easier.”


Robert paused briefly before making his way back to the podium.


“I’m a Certified Medical Assistant, CMA, AAMA,” he said. “How many of you are certified in your profession?” Most of the hands went up. “That’s great,” he said, “I think we owe it to our customers to give them the best our profession offers, don’t you?”


“As you know, this practice already sponsors many CMA continuing education programs. In addition, if you are an AAMA member, the practice will pay your recertification fee. If you’re not an AAMA member, we’ll pay the portion we would pay if you were. We will reimburse you for any preapproved continuing education. If you’re not certified, we will work with you to get you certified, including offering tutorials for the CMA exam. I want our patients to know that they are being cared for by some of the best professionals available.”


By now, Dr. Avila was feeling a lot better.




Down a Dark Road


Kristen and Erika, both medical assistants, and mutual friends outside of work, were huddled at the front desk on Monday morning at about 7:30. No patients were expected for 30 minutes and they were ready for the day, so they began catching up on the social events of their weekends.


“Where’ya go last night?” asked Erika.


Kristen whispered, then Erika squealed, ”Seriously?”


Erika leaned in for more details, and soon the women were engrossed in their conversation. They did not hear Mrs. Long, the 8:00 patient, enter the reception area, and had just about finished their conversation when Mrs. Long cleared her throat.


“Are you girls finished? Great. Now where is your supervisor?”


Kristen and Erika tried to calm down Mrs. Long, but in the end they were forced to knock on the doctor’s office door and ask Ellie, the office manager, to come and speak with Mrs. Long. Ellie heard the patient’s story, and apologized for their rude behavior. Kristen and Erika also apologized. The doctor, no stranger to their behavior, had a big decision to make.




image Experiential Exercises




1. Spend a half-hour in the lobby of a hospital or medical office. Observe the language used between co-workers. Note words or conversations you feel are professional and ones that are not. Can you spot patients and staff as being different by the way they speak?


2. Review your medical terminology textbook. Write down all the terms you forget. Ensure that you know what they mean and how to pronounce and spell them correctly. Do the same with medications you use frequently.


3. Read a health care related article. Write down at least five words you’re not familiar with. Write a sentence with clear meaning for each word, and practice using it.


4. Play a word or vocabulary game with a group of friends. Playing games is a valuable way to increase your vocabulary, and the more diverse the people you play with, the more exposure to new words you will have.


5. Do you wish you had a dime for every time you said “um” when you are speaking? These habits will not go away without your intervention. Buy an inexpensive click-counter that you can keep discretely in your pocket. Count every time you hear yourself using filler words. At the end of the day, fine yourself a dime for every instance. When you’ve kicked the habit, buy something nice for yourself.



image Cross Currents with Other Soft Skills









Learning Objectives for Writing, Grammar, and Spelling




Did you know that writing is not really about writing? Writing is all about your reader. You are not writing to write. You are writing to communicate. If you make one change now in how you write, it should be to always have your reader in mind, no matter how easy or difficult writing is for you. Constantly ask yourself, “What would the reader make of this? What does the reader want to know? Will this be clear to the reader?” Reflect on what you want from someone’s writing when you are the reader. Writing should be clear, interesting, informative, and concise.



Words and sentences are subjects of revision;


paragraphs and whole compositions are subjects of prevision.


—Barrett Wendell



Basic Aspects of Good Writing


Whether you are writing nursing notes, problem-oriented notes, general documentation, thank-you notes, or reports, you are leaving behind a permanent record that will always reflect on you. If the grammar and spelling are correct, the tone appropriate, and the words concise and well chosen, you will be seen as a person of intelligence and professionalism.




Spelling


Spelling is almost always black and white, either correct or incorrect. In health care, you are writing to an audience that knows correct word spelling. Therefore, when you misspell a word, it distracts from the message you are trying to communicate. Plus, misspelling medical terms can result in incorrect dosages or treatments.


Recognize that spelling is something you can master with simple analysis and repetition. When you first encounter a new word, take a few seconds to examine it carefully. What are its syllables? Is there anything weird about the word, like surprising combinations of letters, letters that don’t match how they are pronounced, double letters, or letters that are not doubled when you would expect them to be?


Let’s apply this process to the word parallel. The first half, para, is easy. It is just like all the other instances of para you know: parasympathetic, paranormal. The last four letters might trip you up if you don’t learn them now. There is no particular rule that justifies the double “L” so just remember it: llel. In fact, when you think of these four letters standing alone, they look so weird that they just might stick in your memory.

Related posts:

  1. Being Easy to Deal With
  2. Dealing with Others
  3. Planning for Career Success
  4. Building Personal Emotional Strengths

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Apr 8, 2017 | Posted by in MEDICAL ASSISSTANT | Comments Off on Speaking and Writing Professionally

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