Tips for Talking to Your Clients

One might think one of the easiest things about being a homeopath is talking to your clients. But actually, it carries an incredible responsibility and I have found that it can be one of the more difficult aspects of being a new homeopath.

After many years of talking with many thousands of people, I can say for sure that there is a great art in talking with your clients. Two things happen during the consultation that makes getting our message through quite difficult. One is if the client has not been to a homeopath before, then everything will be new for them and overwhelm is usually the end result. The other thing that happens as a result of the overwhelm is that they will remember maybe only half or less of what you have shared with them.

This is one reason why follow-ups are very necessary. It usually takes a few visits of repeating the information about the homeopathic healing process for them to really start to understand. So here are some pointers that may really help.

• Get very clear about what homeopathy is and what it is not so that you can speak knowledgeably to your client. When it is clear in your mind, you will be able to deliver clear and concise answers and explanations. If you cannot easily describe homeopathy, then you need to get clearer inside yourself.
• As a practitioner, you have a great responsibility. The client will trust you like a doctor if they perceive your confidence. Everything you say will have importance. Depending on where your client’s perspective is, they will run everything through their own belief filters. This can make your job a bit more difficult because what you say may not be what they hear. Be very precise with your words. Always clarify yourself.
• Make no assumptions. I often have clients who say they have been to a homeopath and know all about homeopathy. But after a few questions, I find that they are equating alternative medicine to homeopathy. They deserve and need an accurate explanation of homeopathy. If you assume they know, you may be starting with a shaky foundation that will come back to visit you at some point later in the form of great misunderstanding.
• At the point in the consultation where I know what is asking to be healed, I will do a process of what I call "Holding Up the Mirror." This is the time I tell them my understanding of their case. I take the information that has been shared with me and, in a slightly different context, tell them my understanding of what is asking to be healed. This gives them the opportunity to clarify my understanding of them and to know that they have been heard and understood. It is very helpful for them and critical for me to know that my understanding is correct and right. It is always a key point in our dialogue.
• Share the name and information about the remedy being prescribed. I hear of some homeopaths who will not share the name of the remedy. I do not fully understand why. If the remedy being prescribed is a very good fit, they will usually find more information that will support the remedy. No person ever fits all aspects of the remedy. With a simple explanation of this, it usually suffices that they will trust you even more after reading every internet article they can find about the remedy. If it raises questions, then your knowledge and confidence in the remedy will allow you to answer them and explain further. This usually builds a better relationship.
• Some clients are more knowledgeable about their disease than you will ever be. Don’t pretend to know more. Use this as an opportunity to learn more about them. Ask questions like what it feels like and when does it occur. If they make the assumption that you are a doctor and interested in the medical jargon they use, you must bring the conversation back to the experience and not the simple medical descriptions.
• Always speak to the client's health and never to their disease. Addressing the disease is related to more fear; always. Speak to the healing process. Be realistic and don’t paint an overly hopeful picture but stay positive with them. Doing so will help them in their healing and will keep the conversation out of more or continued fear. After all, they have come asking for help so why not help by speaking to their health and healing. Talking to the disease only reinforces it.
• Always ask your client if they have any questions before the consultation is over. This is the time to clear up any misunderstandings. Answering their questions will help them to organize their thoughts in a final manner before departing. If the conversation has been speaking to their health, they will always feel better after the consultation.

I am sure there are thousands of more tips that can be shared. But if there is a single takeaway of this, realize the responsibility we have in using our words accurately and correctly. It is the form of communication that we have and misunderstandings can happen very easily when we are in the presence of something as new and misunderstood as homeopathy is for most people.

Keep the conversation going! I would love to hear your thoughts and questions below!