John Launer: Watch out for that indulgent smile

Abstract

I spend a lot of time teaching communication skills, although I prefer to call them interactional skills, which suggests more of a two way street. Much of what I cover relates to speaking and listening, although you can’t ignore body language too: eye contact, sitting position, and so on. One experience I mention quite often is seeing a video of my own consultations for the first time. I was horrified to see how much I fidgeted, played with my pen, and looked at the computer—and how much more distracting this was for the patient than stillness. Since then, I’ve always …