What Did You Say?!

Do you call it soda or pop? Pizza or pie? Bubbler or drinking fountain? We all come from different places, so we all have different ways of saying things. Some might argue, “It doesn’t matter if you call it soda or pop. They both mean the same thing!”

In your practice, what you say really does matter. Is it a scan or an X-ray? A cleaning or a hygiene visit? Some team members use one word while others use a different word. This makes the language inconsistent among your team. Patients get confused when team members use different words to say the same thing!

Inconsistency causes more than confusion. Certain words can actually increase your number of cancellations! The word “appointment” has less perceived value than “advanced reservation.” Which would you rather have: an appointment or an advanced reservation? I’ll take the advanced reservation, please!

Decide as a team which words you’re going to use. Write down those words so your team doesn’t forget. This’ll help your team create consistency, eliminate confusion and reduce cancellations.

Speaking of words, my team and I recently played a game of “This or That.” Go check it out!