Improving communication with consumers

• Greet people using your service with a warm smile and a welcoming attitude.
• Keep your body language positive and meet people on their level, e.g. sit down if they are sitting.
• Provide phone operators with plain language scripts and answers to frequently asked questions about the service.

• Some people will have more understanding of topics than others, depending on their life and past experiences. Their capacity to take in new information can also be affected by their health or situation.
• Ask what people already know before giving them new information. This allows you to tailor information to that person’s existing knowledge.
• Use a technique like ‘Ask-Tell-Ask’ help you do this:
  
  • Ask – Use an open ended question to ask someone about their health or what they know about a topic.
  • Tell – Tailor the information you give them to their existing knowledge and how much information they need at this time.
  • Ask – Check their understanding of information you’ve discussed using Teach-back.

• Prioritise what needs to be discussed.
• Limit information to 3-5 key points.
• Put the most important points first.
• Break up complex information into understandable ‘chunks’ (Chunk and Check).

• Use plain language instead of jargon and acronyms. Be guided by the words the consumer is using about their condition. There are many plain language guides to help you. 
• Speak clearly and at a moderate pace. Pause after key messages.

• Teach-back is a way to confirm that people have understood something by asking them to explain it back to you in their own words. It’s a way of checking that you (as a health professional) have explained things clearly. If someone cannot teach-back correctly, you need to explain the information again in a different way.
• Use teach-back after each ‘chunk’ of information or key message.
• Do the free online Teach-Back training.

• An accredited interpreter should be used when:
  
  • a person, carer or family member requests an interpreter
  • a staff member cannot understand the information being conveyed by a person, carer or family member
  • a person, carer or family member does not fully understand what is being said because of difficulty in communicating in English.

• Family members or carers are not a good alternative to an accredited interpreter.

See the Translating and Interpreting Service website for more information.

• Use visuals (pictures, graphs, maps, charts, 3D models), demonstrations, and gestures to support spoken information.
• Do not assume people will read information you give to them. Use written materials to support the messages conveyed in your spoken instructions.
• Tailor visual information to the person, e.g. write notes, draw diagrams to help people remember information later. Offer pen and paper for people to write their own notes.

• Use open-ended questions such as “What questions do you have?”, rather than ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions like “Do you have any questions?”
• Many people will not ask questions unless prompted.

• Actively listen to people’s concerns and their priorities and find out why these are important for that person.
• Ask people for permission to ask them questions. e.g. “you said…. I’d like to ask you a bit more about that, is that ok?”

Take a Health Literacy Universal Precautions approach to communication. This means recognising that it is not possible to know a person’s level of individual health literacy by looking at them. We should assume that there will be barriers to understanding and to reduce the complexity of information and services for all health consumers.

Using health literacy strategies, like plain language, helps everyone better understand their health, regardless of what health literacy level they may have. Strategies like Teach-back to check for prior knowledge or understanding, and asking people how they like to communicate and learn, allow us to tailor information to an individual.

Health Literacy Universal Precautions are a way to:

• simplify communication and confirm understanding for all people
• make the health care system easier to navigate
• support people’s efforts to improve their health.

Read more about communicating numbers & risks.