Communication skills are a fundamental component of a patient-centred approach. Research demonstrates that patient-centred communication has a positive impact on important outcomes, including patient satisfaction, adherence to recommended treatment and effective self-management of chronic disease.

As we send and receive messages to and from patients during the working day, listening plays a crucial role. We use our ears to hear, but to listen is to decode the message and understand the objectives of the sender.

In Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the fifth habit states ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood’. Listening skills are at the core of this, and developing them assists the healthcare provider to become an excellent communicator.

In an Australian study from 2014, patients’ future willingness to use a medicine management service was strongly influenced by their perceptions of how well the pharmacist listened to them during their last medication review.¹ And in a 2011 study using the Calgary Cambridge Communication framework (a method for the effective gaining of information), pharmacists showed good use of many skills, especially signposting and closing the consultation. But some, such as listening effectively, eliciting the patient’s perspective and creating patient-centred consultations, were poorly presented.²

We are not born with excellent listening skills; we need to train to do this effectively. Listening is often viewed as an involuntary skill, but listening with intent to understand the message and the purpose of the conversation requires practice and commitment.