We tend to listen more closely to and communicate better with people who use similar language to ourselves. However, in a patient consultation, we need to accept that we need to communicate with people who use different words and language. A failure to open the mind to different communication modes will hinder listening.

From the patient’s perspective, the use of professional and medical jargon is as much a barrier to effective listening as a patient’s use of ambiguous or non-medical language is to the pharmacist. It is essential not to make assumptions about a patient’s communication. Self-opinionated listeners generally reject the speaker’s views and this can hamper the pharmacist-patient relationship by imposing a ‘professional knows best’ stamp on the conversation.

Our emotional state can either facilitate or block effective listening: stress, anger, eagerness or fear should not be allowed to disrupt a patient consultation. 

An inability to perceive the tone of a speaker’s voice, loudness or pitch may lead to ineffective listening. Pharmacists must be able to pick up on these non-verbal cues of language. Difficulty with understanding each other’s language or dialect will also be a barrier.