How to Educate Patients Without the Spin

In the world of chiropractic care and holistic health, educating patients about the value of long-term care can often feel like running in circles. We have so much to offer, but how do we communicate that effectively so people stick around, pay, and refer others to us for years? It comes down to being direct and efficient with our education.
Why Education Needs to Be Direct and Engaging
Many practitioners, including myself, have found that spinning in circles with patient education leads to frustration for both parties. Patients come to us for relief from their symptoms—whether it's neck pain, headaches, or back pain—but we know that real healing and optimal health go beyond simply masking symptoms. The challenge is bridging that gap in understanding. I’ve been fortunate to learn from experts like Russ, who taught me that education doesn't have to be a complicated sales pitch. He helped me understand how to communicate effectively so patients truly grasp what we offer. For over 15 years, his techniques have allowed me to help thousands of patients appreciate the long-term benefits of chiropractic care.
Neuroscience of Communication: How to Reach Your Patients
Russ’s methods are based on a simple but powerful concept: the neuroscience of communication. The brain is wired to filter information based on its survival instincts. Think of the "reptilian brain," which is responsible for basic functions like food, fighting, and survival. For your message to get past this filter and reach the thinking and reasoning parts of the brain, you need to speak directly to the patient’s most important subject—themselves. How do we do that? By using Socratic questions and stories. Instead of pushing our knowledge on patients, we need to ask them about their own health journey. Questions like:
Why do you think this is happening?
What level of health do you want to achieve?
What do you think brought this on?
These types of questions get patients thinking, and once they’re engaged, they’re more open to learning about how we can help them not just feel better, but truly get better.
Overcoming Communication Barriers
One of the common reasons patients don’t stick with long-term care is because they don’t fully understand its value. If your practice struggles with retention, it’s not just because patients don’t get it—it’s also because we haven’t explained it in a way that resonates with them. The good news? We can fix that. Russ’s advice is simple but effective: stop trying to tell patients what they need. Instead, draw their story out of them, and then connect your expertise to their narrative. Once you build rapport, ask about their specific fears and concerns, and address those directly. By doing this, you’re shifting the conversation from your neocortex (thinking brain) to their reptilian brain (survival brain) where real engagement happens.
Building Trust for Long-Term Success
Education alone isn’t enough. To retain patients for the long term, you also need to build trust and relieve any fears or concerns they have about your care. Many patients come in with anxiety—whether it’s fear that the treatment will be expensive, or concern that it won’t work. From a neuroscience perspective, if a patient is anxious, they’re in fight-or-flight mode and can’t fully process your message. Your job is to relieve those concerns so they’re open to receiving the value of your care.
The Power of Asking the Right Questions
One of the most effective tools in patient communication is asking the right questions at the right time. When you have a consultation, you’re essentially playing a game of darts: you need to hit the right target by finding out what really matters to the patient. Are they concerned about the pain or symptom? The diagnosis? Or how it’s affecting their quality of life?
By understanding which "dartboard" your patient is focused on, you can tailor your communication to hit the bullseye, making sure your message is heard loud and clear.
The key is to stop the spin and start focusing on what really matters: helping your patients understand the value of what you offer, so they stay, pay, and refer for years to come.