WELCOME TO THE

I look in detail at the active work the body can do to establish The Heightened Professional Persona. You are introduced to the functions of facial expression, gesture and overall physicality –and we ask what, in detail, should these areas actually be doing in order to fuse the most positive aspects of your private persona with your professional one - to create that most commanding entity: your full professional presence! Only then you can answer this question fully: who IS Dr ……….? (And it’s your name that goes in that gap!) 

We assess how our bodies tend to respond in public and in their professional contexts – we explore Open and Closed body language. What do these two different ways of comportment look and, crucially, feel like – and what messages do they give about us as professionals? How should we, for example, sit in consultations – and why is this important? How are we currently sitting? I aim to illustrate that this is crucial and, I would argue, even career-defining in a range of contexts! We explore an exercise like ‘The Chairlift’ to find out why.

I take you on an exploration of the face in more detail, looking at establishing greater facial mobility by ‘breaking down’ the face and its phenomenal capabilities. Are you moving your face in ways that demonstrate your professionalism and total engagement? Are some of us just a little too expressionless – and are nerves behind this? What might be the dangers of a blank face across our professional interactions? What is the orbital area? – and are we making it work hard enough? Must we smile all the time? Is there only one smile? How should we smile, and when!? 

Now I invite you to look, as it were, at your eyes! What are they bringing to your professional exchanges - both on and off-line? What should we be aware of - and practice? Can we experience too much eye-contact as well as too little? Is there really a professional repertoire for eyes!? How might we practice this? How might our ocular responses sometimes betray uncertain mental processes? We explore a range of interesting possibilities to heighten our professional interactions involving judicious eye-contact, eye ‘breaks’ and much more.

I take you through some background and science – how, for instance, does Broca’s Area relate to gesture? “Gesture is instant sharing and engagement” – with that in mind I aim to demonstrate that a ‘shoulder-driven’ two-handed gestural repertoire is just as important as…facial expression! A big claim but we will explore how central gesture is to our all our interactions. Indeed, I aim to prove that little in the way of a gestural repertoire can, in my experience with trainees, generate negativity and a lack of professionalism in the workplace.

I demonstrate a range of highly accessible and quick practical exercises to establish and build an appropriate professional gestural repertoire. I show you how to avoid the danger of an overactive ‘flapping’ gestural response and how using two-handed gesture can help rewire us – and even reboot us! - to our neural circuitry – enlivening both our facial and vocal responses.

All too often, professionals tend to neglect the importance of their vocal delivery in their working environment. Yet the voice is literally the ‘sound’ of our professionalism: it is our calling card, our highly expressive and hard-working ‘frequency.’ Did you know that almost all the trainee doctors I have coached think fast and therefore talk too fast!? In this module I demonstrate the key areas of successful vocal delivery under the umbrella term ‘modulation’ – where issues of pace, pitch, tone and projection are of the utmost importance as you build your fully-rounded professional persona. Your consultations, medical procedures, panels, vivas, exams, interviews and presentations – and above all, your careers beyond, will be greatly enhanced by the way you come across vocally

Question: where do you find yourself from day to day – and moving through each day – in terms of ‘geography and furniture’? Why do these seemingly non-medical concepts matter? I explore the implications of your different physical environments or ‘sets’ and look at both ‘furniture and props’ as you, as a professional, move through your day. We need reminders about situational and spatial awareness and how, for trainee GP’s – you can, to an extent, modify your consulting space and how, for Hospital Specialty trainees, you need to adapt to your very varied environments in each new hospital context

I look at the challenges of handling the micro ‘vocal-centric’ world of the telephone consultation and the truncated world of online communication in general. We’re all improving – but there’s still a lingering sense of ‘i-robot’ about it all! What percentage of human interactions are missing is still to be guessed at – there is a strong sense of partial absence about it all. I look at how present we really are online and on our phones – and what we can do to - at least approximate - to our ‘full professional presence’ in these essentially disembodied arenas.

“Breaking bad news is the ultimate challenge in the art of presence” - so it’s ironic that we’re exploring it online! However, in this module you’ll find case studies, discussion of pitfalls and some vital exercises to move towards providing time and your full presence to these often highly challenging – and often traumatic - moments. Breaking bad news may be one of the biggest emotional challenges you face in your professional lives and, in this module, I aim to help and support you as you face each breaking bad news scenario bravely, sensitively and precisely. With practice, you can build on your crucial role by being fully present in that - frequently devastating  moment for your patients: fellow human beings who have to face hearing – and processing – perhaps the worst news they will ever hear.

I guide you through a range of techniques to help you ‘enter your arena’ – whether this is your exam, an interview, a presentation, a difficult meeting, viva or panel. Nerves effect us all, until we learn to turn them into controlled adrenalin – then they can almost be one of our ‘super-powers.’ Practiced conscientiously, these tried-and-tested techniques work – the vast majority of my trainees overcome the worst of their nerves and go on pass the interpersonal component of their exams – the key is always: - practice, progress and pass!

It would indeed be a lovely world if everyone at work behaved in an exemplary, patient, goodhumoured and wholly professional manner. In this module, I hope you will start – and attempt to maintain - such a positive trend! The world of patients, colleagues and seniors is incredibly complex - and often highly challenging. We explore this area, often a ‘minefield’ – with the express aim of helping your day-to-day interactions move forwards more fluently in a huge range of contexts

Everything in this short module harks back to the eleven preceding ones. Here I focus specifically on the GP and family physicians’ approach to your interpersonal skills exams wherever you find yourself in the world and remind you, once again, to practice all you have discovered on the DIS 360. The written supporting material – ‘Further Preparation for Exam Success’ – is particularly important here, as is ‘Dress Codes’ and ‘Wellbeing.’

As above, everything in this short module harks back to the eleven preceding ones but here I focus specifically on the Junior doctor in all hospital specialties, in your approach to your interpersonal skills exams wherever you find yourself in the world and remind you once again to practice all you have discovered on the DIS 360. The written supporting material – ‘Further Preparation for Exam Success’ – is particularly important here, as is ‘Dress Codes’ and ‘Wellbeing.’