Shadowing Practice: How I Interview New Massage Clients (With Demonstration) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi everyone, I'm Ian Harvey, massage therapist.
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Hi everyone, I'm Ian Harvey, massage therapist.
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Today we're going to talk about client communication,
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specifically what to do during that first ever interview with your client,
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that first time you're ever seeing them face to face.
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If you'd like to skip ahead to any portion of this video,
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click down in the time codes in the description.
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Before we get a client in here to do some role playing,
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I'd like to talk about what my goals are for this first ever interview.
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I don't want to skip over this interview or make it too short
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because this can be kind of an anxious time for clients and for us.
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This first ever interview is important for setting the tone for the rest of your therapeutic relationship,
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which could last for years.
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I know
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that some of you are working at massage franchises where you
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have like three minutes before a massage to get people on the table.
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And it's still possible to make some changes to this interview that can promote a good therapeutic relationship.
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If you'd like to see my tips for that,
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I did a live video on Facebook.
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If you'd like to see that,
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you can click down in the description.
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Now, if you've got more time than that,
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and I do like a good amount of time between my clients,
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I like to take that first interview at a slow pace.
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It allows the client to kind of tell their story,
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and it allows me to ask the amount of follow-up questions that I want to ask,
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and to kind of inform my client what I'm about and how I'm going to proceed.
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During that interview, I've got four goals.
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The first is to establish rapport.
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Rapport is that trust and open communication that can exist between you and a healthcare practitioner.
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The way that we present ourselves,
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the way that we present our knowledge,
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the questions that we ask and the way that we listen can all add up to a strong rapport.
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Two, I want to demystify massage.
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I want to take the mystery out of this whole unusual situation.
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Even if it's not their first massage,
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even if it's their hundredth massage,
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I still want to tell them what's going to happen,
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what I'm going to do,
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and what I expect from them.
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And you'll see that in the client interview I'm about to do.
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Third, I want to empower the client.
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In any clinical setting, there can be a power differential where the client goes in,
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they perceive this other person as the expert,
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and they don't perceive themselves as an expert,
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and that's what I want to change.
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I want to take any possible opportunity to let them know
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that they are the expert in the room when it comes to their unique body and their history and who they are.
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So as much as I want to give knowledge and show that I am a capable massage therapist,
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I also want to let them know that I value their input,
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that I value what they have to say about their personal history,
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about who they are, and about what they're feeling.
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So anything that I can do to promote them seeing themselves as an expert
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and empower them to use their voice to speak up
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when something hurts or when there's not enough pressure or when the temperature isn't right in the room,
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just any chance that I can get them to use their voice and to take part in this two-way relationship,
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I find that valuable.
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My fourth goal is to get good,
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actionable information from my clients.
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That pre-massage interview, it can go something like this.
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Does anything hurt today?
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Alright, get on the table,
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I'll unlock in a minute.
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It can be that short,
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but that hasn't given me any good information on how I can customize that massage to that client.
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So I make sure to ask open-ended questions.
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My favorite is, what brings you in for massage today?
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And then, once I've asked those questions, I wait.
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I give them the time and the space to give a full answer without interrupting,
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without jumping in.
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If they're able to take their time and tell their whole story,
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think about how different that is from other healthcare situations where it's all rush, rush, rush.
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I do ask questions though.
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I'm able to get the best information from asking follow-up questions to those open-ended questions.
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So if they talk about their low back,
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I'll ask questions about their hips,
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about whether they have any pain that shoots down their legs.
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If they've got shoulder problems,
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I'll ask about their neck and their,
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basically their skull and if they have any headaches.
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So asking follow-up questions can get you information that otherwise wouldn't have been volunteered and it will help build that rapport.
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It will help them realize that you do have some expertise and that you want to hear what they have to say.
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In every part of this first interview,
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these are all opportunities to build rapport and demystify and get good information and all that stuff that I just mentioned.
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So let's see what that looks like with a client.
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So this is Madison.
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Hi.
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So notice the way that I'm beginning.
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I'm not doing this.
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I'm not looming over my client.
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I think that's important on kind of a psychological level that you're not putting yourself above your client.
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So either sit at the same level or if they're standing,
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you can stand or you can be at a level below them.
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And if I haven't had the chance to do this yet,
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I do like to tell them a little bit about myself.
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So Madison, I've been doing massage for about 11 years now
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and I typically do a kind of massage called myofascial release kind of mixed with Swedish massage
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so it might be a little bit slower than what you're used to
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so let me know if that pace is ever not quite right for you okay?
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Okay.
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All right so letting people know who you are
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and what you do can start building that rapport that we were talking about.
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So Madison what brings you you in for a massage today?
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I have really bad shoulders,
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my lower back hurts, I feel like tightness up all in my neck.
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Okay.
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All right, do any of these stand out more than the others?
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Definitely my lower neck.
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I have troubles with my neck all the time.
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Okay.
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Show me where exactly you feel that pain.
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I would say right about where like,
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I don't I don't know,
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I know nothing about like spinal stuff,
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but right here, and where like the neck, like this bone thing.
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Yeah, okay.
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When someone tells me about their pain,
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I ask them to show me,
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because what one person means by lower neck or lower back,
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someone else will mean something very different.
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So I have them pointed out,
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and I mirror that on myself,
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so that when they look at me,
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they can see I know exactly what they're talking about,
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that I'm not missing a point.
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So Madison, do you ever get cricks in your neck it's hard to turn.
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Oh, all the time.
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How frequently do you get those?
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Oh man, at least four or five times a day.
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I have to like crack my neck.
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And do you ever wake up and you just can't look over your shoulder?
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Not, no, not really.
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It's more just like it hurts,
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like it's stiff, but I can pull through it.
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Okay, so stiff.
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Do you ever get headaches?
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Yeah.
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How often do you get those?
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Maybe like once a week or so.
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Okay.
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When you get them, where do you feel them?
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They kind of start back here and then kind of migrate forward to the front here.
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Okay.
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And that makes perfect sense to me.
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That's a pattern that I see fairly often,
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just kind of that wrapping around.
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Now, as I'm working with your neck,
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if you ever feel any of that sensation kind of at the back of your head or toward the front,
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just let me know that there's that kind of activation happening, okay?
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And as far as your low back where do you feel
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that okay yeah so kind of the very bottom do you ever get pain
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that goes down further than that so in your hip or leg okay great more just like a stiffness Alright,
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so when you're asking these follow-up questions,
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do your best not to give a different level of response based on whether the answer is positive or negative.
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So if she had answered that she did have pain in her hip,
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I shouldn't say, oh good,
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you know, I shouldn't get excited about that.
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Because giving a more enthusiastic response to this positive response can kind of lead the witness,
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and that's not what I want.
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So Madison, in a second here I'm going to step out of the room.
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When I do, I'd like you to get as undressed as you're comfortable with.
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For some people that's being completely undressed.
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Some people choose to leave their underpants on and if you do that's fine.
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I would like to work with your hips.
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Would that be alright if I made contact with this area?
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Absolutely.
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Okay.
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And I do like to make sure that I show them what I mean by hips so that there's no confusion.
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And you can't always choose to leave more or less clothes on.
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You could be completely dressed.
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Okay?
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to you and your clothes can go right over there.
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And as I'm working, do let me know
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if I'm ever too far into your personal space or if you ever feel uncomfortable or if you feel a draft.
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You should always feel well covered and comfortable, okay?
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Thank you.
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Yes, and also pressure.
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If I'm ever using too much pressure,
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if you're ever gritting your teeth or holding your breath to kind of get through a technique,
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that may not be too much for you,
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but that's too much for me, okay?
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So don't suffer in silence and please do give me a heads up, all right?
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Thank you.
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All right, all right.
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So I know that that may have been kind of thorough but I do that on purpose.
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I like to, especially for this first interview,
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I like to err on the side of talking too much,
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asking too many questions, and giving them plenty of opportunities to let me know more about themselves.
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Alright, so that's how I deal with a first-ever client interview.
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Let me know if you do anything differently.
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Let me know if you have any suggestions or anything that you'd like to add.
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Thanks Thanks again to my Patreon supporters for making it possible for me to teach in my weird way.
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If you'd like to find out what Patreon is and how you can support this channel directly,
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click down in the description.
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Let me know what you'd like to see next,
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consider subscribing, and I'll see you next time.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will learn how to conduct an effective client interview based on the insights shared by Ian Harvey, a massage therapist. This involves building rapport, demystifying the massage process, empowering the client, and extracting actionable information. By engaging with this content, you will improve your ability to communicate with clients in a therapeutic setting, an essential skill not only in massage therapy but in various professional fields. You will also practice using specific vocabulary and phrases related to client interviews that can enhance your English speaking skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Rapport: A relationship of mutual understanding or trust established between the therapist and the client.
- Demystify: To make a complicated or obscure subject clear and understandable.
- Empower: To give clients a sense of control and authority over their own health and wellbeing.
- Open-ended questions: Questions designed to elicit detailed responses, not just 'yes' or 'no' answers.
- Follow-up questions: Additional questions that prompt further discussion based on initial responses.
- Therapeutic relationship: The connection between a therapist and a client that promotes effective communication and care.
- Actionable information: Practical and useful data that can be directly applied to decision-making.
- Client's story: The client's personal account of their health, preferences, and expectations.
Practice Tips
To effectively use the material from this lesson and improve your English pronunciation, you can employ a technique known as shadowspeak. Here are some tips for practicing shadow speech with the client interview content:
- Watch and Repeat: Stream the video and listen carefully to Ian’s speech patterns. Pause the video after each sentence to repeat what he has said, mimicking his intonation and pace.
- Slow Down: If you find the original speed challenging, consider lowering the playback speed in your settings. This allows you to focus on clarity while practicing your pronunciation.
- Record Yourself: Use a voice recorder to capture your shadowing attempts. Listening to yourself will help you identify areas for improvement in your pronunciation and fluency.
- Practice Open-Ended Questions: Create your own open-ended questions related to your interests or experiences, and practice saying them out loud. This will help you gain confidence in engaging conversations.
- Role-Playing: If possible, find a language partner or friend to practice role-playing. Take turns being the therapist and the client, using the vocabulary and phrases from this lesson.
By incorporating these strategies, you will not only learn English with YouTube effectively but also improve your ability to communicate in a client-oriented environment enriched by shadow speak.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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