How a focus on nonverbal communication can help with difficult conversations

Difficult conversations can happen in all aspects of daily life and can certainly take place during the working life of a farm animal veterinary surgeon. Examples might include having to give bad news to a farmer about their tuberculosis (TB) test result, being told that the treatment you advised did not work and the animal is still unwell or maybe even dead, or discussing herd health plans and trying to agree a new management practice on farm, such as lameness scoring. Conversations involve both verbal and nonverbal communication. Nonverbal behaviours tend to occur subconsciously, reflecting an emotional response, and it is often when we are feeling emotional that conversations become difficult. Becoming skilled in both aspects of communication will increase the chances that difficult conversations can have positive outcomes.

All hands were raised at the 2021 British Cattle Veterinary Association Congress (BCVA) workshop when participants were asked, ‘who has experienced a difficult conversation?’. The workshop aimed to delve into those experiences and discover just what made those conversations ‘difficult’. A consistent feature reported by those recounting instances of having difficult conversations was that they experienced strong feelings, such as anger, fear, anxiety or even despair. It was also noted that the other person in the conversation — farmer/client/boss — appeared to be similarly affected by emotions, with changes being noted in their facial expression and body posture.