It makes some people’s skin crawl just to think of it.
What is it? It’s the unforgiving blank stare you get after spending valuable time explaining your diagnosis to “Patient X”. Sitting in your office chair, your mind races, trying to think about how to explain things for what seems the 100th time.
Enter Osmo A. Wiio….
Wiio was a Finnish academic, journalist, author and member of the Finnish Parliament who wrote some humorous observations on communication, that have become known as Wiio’s Laws.
The first and fundamental law states that: “Communication usually fails, except by accident”. 
He went on to say:
Communication usually fails, except by accident.
If communication can fail, it will.
If communication cannot fail, it still most usually fails.
If communication seems to succeed in the intended way, there’s a misunderstanding.
If you are content with your message, communication certainly fails.
If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be interpreted in a manner that maximizes the damage.
There is always someone who knows better than you what you meant with your message.
The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds.
The more we communicate, the faster misunderstandings propagate.
In mass communication, the important thing is not how things are but how they seem to be.
The importance of a news item is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.
The more important the situation is, the more probably you forget an essential thing that you remembered a moment ago.
Let’s return to your office. Any number of these laws could be happening in your context, not to mention a host of other cultural and personal factors. So what is a healthcare provider to do?
Here are 5 tips for improving communication with patients:
1. Engage as many learning styles as possible. Gardner (2011) found that people experience the world differently, and have different types of intelligence. In fact, most people have a combination of intelligences. People tend to learn using their strong intelligence suits, so it’s important for you to discover their learning styles quickly. Gardener’s intelligences are as follows: naturalist, musical, logical-mathematical, existential, interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, linguistic, intra-personal, and spatial. 
Bonus Pro tip: You can guess at some of these combinations based on the individual’s profession. You can even ask the person what their preferred learning style is when you begin your consultation.
2. Read your patient’s body… We’re not talking about just anatomy here. Non-verbal communication is key to understanding what’s going on in your interaction. Example: Crossed arms can often indicate that “Patient X” has built an invisible wall and is closed off to the conversation. Facial expressions are also very crucial to read properly.
3. Do a check for understanding. Have “Patient X” summarize what you just said in their own words.
4. Don’t be long winded. Watch your time! Leave enough time in the consultation so that the patient find answers to key questions such as: 1. What is my main
problem? 2. What do I need to do? 3. Why is it important for me to do this?
5. Don’t judge the patient by their outside appearance. Each person has a story. Don’t assume you know it before they open their mouths.
EXTRA BONUS: Remember that culture plays a key factor in understanding patients’ backgrounds. See Ruth Van Reken’s website for some interesting twists in culture in our globalized world.
What questions do you have regarding patient communication? Feel free to comment below.
1.Osmo A. Wiio (1978). Wiion lait – ja vähän muidenkin (Wiio’s laws – and some others). Weilin and Göös. ISBN 951-35-1657-1.
2. Korpela, Jukka (2010). “A commentary of Wiio’s laws”. IT and communication. Retrieved 2017-2-16.
3. Gardner, Howard & Seana Moran. “The science of multiple intelligences theory: A response to Lynn Waterhouse.” Educational Psychologist, 41(4), 227-232. 2006. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4104_2.
©Allison J. Weaver Consulting, LLC 2017