Q: I have been a chiropractor for 19 years and have awakened to the obvious. After going to business networking meetings, I realize that I cannot explain what I do in a simple way that people “get.” Of course, I should have figured this out much sooner after looking at my practice stats! There is so much to say that it clouds my explanation. Is there a way that you could help narrow my focus? If you were a chiropractor and had 60-seconds to explain what you do, what would you say?
A: The first distinction you’d probably want to make is between describing what you do and describing what chiropractic is. What you do as a chiropractor is interesting to only two relatively small groups: other chiropractors and prospective new patients contemplating beginning care. So the question is, how do you make chiropractic fascinating, intriguing and attractive to a larger, more general audience?
Before you can construct a chiropractic explanation that people “get,” you’d want to have clarity about what chiropractic is and what it isn’t. In other words, before you can be effective at how to communicate (your technique), you’d want to settle on a clear understanding of what chiropractic is. Which, based on what the GCC is doing in the United Kingdom, what the CCE is trying to do in the United States, not to mention the storm clouds brewing over Texas chiropractors, it’s a timely question as these entities battle for the soul of the chiropractic profession.
Decide for yourself, but here are a few of the core beliefs I have about chiropractic:
- Chiropractic does not treat disease, health conditions or other named entities.
- Chiropractic is a drug-free, nonduplicative healing art, separate from medicine.
- Chiropractic is the art and science of detecting and reducing vertebral subluxation.
- Chiropractic honors and helps revive a living individual’s inborn ability to self-heal.
- Chiropractic can help anyone, regardless of age, better adapt to the stresses of life.
Naturally, the sum of these beliefs is something quite different from the understanding of a typical new patient and something that insurance carriers don’t grasp. Tragically, these two forces, the mechanistic bent of most chiropractic colleges and the symptom-treating-instant-gratification mentality so pervasive in the media, conspire to obscure the simplicity and beauty of chiropractic.
After you determine what chiropractic is, you’d want to develop a way to communicate it in such a way that it would serve to encourage a conversation. I know two strategies that might facilitate that. The first is to ask a question. The second is to make an ambiguous assertion.
Asking a Question
So, you’re at your networking breakfast, service club luncheon or the window seat on an airplane and they pop the question:
They: “So tell me, what do you do?”
You: “Sure, but before I do, may I ask you a question?”
They: “Okay.”
You: “What system of the body controls and regulates every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body?”
They: “I don’t know. The brain?”
You: “Well the brain is part of it. What else is required for your brain to control and regulate the rest of your body?”
They: “Nerves?”
You: “That’s right. I make sure nervous systems are able to control and regulate every function of the body. And when nervous systems are interference-free, an amazing thing happens. Do you know what it is?
They: “No. What?”
You: “Health and well-being.”
Naturally, it’s impossible to script a conversation with a stranger, but you get the idea. After explaining the principles with which you work, most people might be inclined to ask their question again.
They: “It sounds fascinating, so, what do you actually do?”
You: “I’m a chiropractor.”
They: “Really, I thought chiropractors just worked on headaches and back pain.”
You: “Some do. But our practice is a little different from the typical chiropractic practice.”
And you’re off and racing. Imagine where the conversation might go if you were to reveal that a large part of your practice are newborns and children? Or that most people coming to your practice feel great and are seeking something called wellness care.
Making an Ambiguous Assertion
So, you’re at your networking breakfast, service club luncheon or the window seat on an airplane and they pop the question:
They: “So tell me, what do you do?”
You: “I work with the living force that animates the universe.”
They: “Huh?”
You: “I help people adapt to physical, emotional or chemical stresses that reduce their health potential.”
They: “Huh?”
You: “I help restore the inborn ability of individuals to self-heal and revive their capacity to function at 100% of their fullest potential.”
They: “Huh?”
You get the idea. Be a bit coy; more mysterious. Try to engage in a conversation rather than reducing chiropractic to a bumper sticker slogan, chiroism or surrendering to the prevailing cultural notion of what chiropractors do. It might make that networking breakfast, service club luncheon or window seat a lot more fun. Maybe even life changing!