in the Hands of the Potter: Speak their language

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Speak their language

I've always thought it was important to learn the language of someone else, in order to effectively communicate. But I tend to think of it in terms of actual languages -- Lamba in Zambia, Spanish in Honduras, Mandarin in China, etc. It never completely occurred to me that there are many different forms, even within my own English language.

When I was finishing PA school, a colleague advised me, "use 'doctor talk' vocabulary confidently. You spent a lot of money on your education- show it off!" And when I am speaking to other practitioners, I use their language. Someone else might not know what I meant if I said "the patient is a G3P2 female, who is POD2 after an ex-lap and hysterectomy, and is complaining of RUQ pain...." If we didn't have a language to speak, it would take a lot longer to say, "the patient is a female who has been pregnant 3 times and has had 2 children born, presents on the second day after an exploratory surgery of the abdomen and removal of her uterus, who is complaining of abdominal pain in the right side up by her ribcage...."
See what I mean? Language is important.

I've talked before in this blog about the fact that people in other countries respond to Americans trying to learn their language. They are comfortable with it. They trust your motives, when you attempt to communicate as they do.

I discovered this again as I was talking with a patient yesterday. I had gone through her medical history and a physical exam, and we were just about done talking. She hadn't been too responsive to the interview in the first place -- a little suspicious of who I was and what my motives are (common in the psychiatric population). And as we were leaving the room, I said "girl, you need a shower" in the same tone of voice that she had been using with me (yeah, I'm blunt ... it's one of my not-so-endearing qualities). Not as a professional, but as a peer. Someone she could trust. Her face broke into a huge smile and she said, "you tell it like it is! I LIKE you! You're keeping it real."

Something inside her broke then, and she began to trust me. From that point on, she responded differently when I wanted to talk with her. I hadn't realized that anything I said would really have an impact. I relate to my patients like that often. And it really does matter. Language makes a difference. When I use the "wrong" language in a situation, it may create a negative, unhelpful environment.

It's a concept also very true in Christianity. So often Christians get caught up in their "Christianese" language. We are so used to saying things a certain way, and knowing what each other is talking about, that we forget when we are talking with someone who may not be familiar with the terms, doesn't know what certain things mean. We just expect everyone to.

God's really been showing me the last few days that this is something that is extremely important in relating to anyone - our coworkers, family members, friends, significant others, etc. We need to speak the language of others if we want to effectively communicate.

posted by emily @ 8:45 PM

2 Comments:

At 5:03 PM, Anonymous said…

Excellent point.Very insightful and I totally agree!!
At 4:17 AM, Kevin P said…

Well written - good thing God's love transcends all language barriers!

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