The words to use
- Chunk and check
- Giving information in small pieces and checking understanding between each one, rather than all at once (NICE NG197, 2021).
- Teach-back
- Asking the person to explain or show back what you told them, to test how well you explained it. It is more than asking "Do you understand?"
- Tell-show-do
- Saying what you will do, showing it somewhere harmless, then doing exactly that. A widely accepted technique in paediatric dentistry.
- Jargon
- Technical words that make sense to professionals but not to most people, such as "caries" or "periodontitis". Swap them for plain words.
