Open AccessOn a daily basis, we are involved in communication processes with colleagues, family members, friends and, in health environment, with patients. In most cases, we do not ask ourselves how these processes happen, neither we care for the effects on the person we are talking to. Usually, in fact, the consequences of what we say coincide with our expectations and, when this does not happen, we do not even try to understand why. For example, when we give a friend directions to our home, we do expect him to arrive. If this event does not occur, it is very likely that we will draw the following conclusion: he got lost!. In most cases, then, we do not care about the effects our words have on the others, that is to say, we do not care if our communication was effective or not.
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place - George Bernard Shaw
This article aims to show when an effective communication is performed, both in general and in the patient-physician interaction. In a brief premise, we will describe the elements of communication, then the barriers to an effective communication will be considered together with their effects. Finally, some suggestions for making our communication with patients more effective will be offered. Obviously, this is just a mention to a very complex topic, therefore references for further in-depth studies are reported.
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