Think about meeting someone for the first time. Those first impressions can make or break your future relationship with them.

We size them up in the first few seconds without even realizing we’re doing it, and then in those first few moments that we usually decide how receptive we’ll be to that person. Once we decide that, we immediately know how much energy we’ll invest into that person or the relationship they want to have with us.

The same thing happens in nutrition counseling. Getting our patient to feel comfortable enough to open up to us at a first meeting, is one of our biggest challenges. Especially in clinical nutrition when we’re short on time and have a whole lot of information to provide.

There are 2 steps you can take when you first walk through the door that will set the tone for the rest of the conversation. They are:

1. The greeting 
2. The first question

These two things can are done with limited time and form the foundation of everything else that’s said. This is especially true when we’re meeting someone who might not look like us or present the way we do. 

1. Warm Smiles and a Friendly Greeting 

This is the first step in building rapport with your patient, and it’s crucial. 

In clinical nutrition, our patients are often in fragile states – both physically and emotionally. When you walk into a client’s room for the first time, take a second to make eye contact, smile and say hi.

These small gestures will immediately make your patient feel seen and acknowledged. It sets the tone of the rest of the conversation with your patient beginning to know that you’re there to support them in whatever way you can.

2. The First Question

A close second to a warm greeting is asking what concerns your patient has. It’s easy to get in the trap of powering through a conversation with a pre-set agenda because of limited time. 

But asking your patient what’s on their mind can set the tone of your time together. It can be the difference between them opening up, or them viewing you as just another expert who doesn’t understand their life or care about what they need.

By giving up 1-2 minutes to build trust with your patient can often be the difference between someone walking away having absorbed some key dietary information, and those others tossing your handout the minute you turn your back. 

Once you’ve gotten a sense of what your patient is worried about or interested in, you can now begin the process of tailoring your nutrition education specifically to their needs.