Nonverbal Communication in the Consulting Room

Gregorio Marañón, one of the greatest Spanish clinicians of the last century, maintained that “the most important instrument in medicine is the chair.” With this he emphasized just how important the time a doctor dedicates to the patient is in diagnosis and therapy. The strategy of good communication requires the intelligent use of time. This becomes even more important the less time we have. Therefore, it is impossible to think of designing medical meetings that take less time, but still leave patients satisfied, without preparing accordingly. Designing the communication spaces, preparing the environment, having materials at hand, our professional attitude, eliminating distractions, bringing our computer use to a minimum, looking the patient in the eye, respecting personal space; all of these elements have been studied to optimize a meeting for good communication. In an increasingly faster-paced world, the first medical gesture that indicates that you have time is to sit down, but today that is not enough.