Eight habits capture the Roeland Wessels-informed communication lens used by Journal.vet: open warmly, ask an open agenda question, listen before narrowing, agree priorities, use precise questions, narrate the examination, frame next steps positively, and recommend the Best Option for the Animal (BOA). None requires a longer speech. The aim is a consultation in which the owner feels heard, the vet gets a cleaner history and the plan is easier to understand.
These are communication habits, not clinical rules. The veterinarian still decides what is medically appropriate, adapts to the person and situation in front of them, and keeps control of every clinical decision.
1. Open the human conversation
Before diving into symptoms, make room for the person who brought the patient in. A natural open question — “How are you?” or “How was the drive here?” — can soften the handover from waiting room to clinical conversation. It is not a script to force into every emergency. It is a reminder that rapport starts before the history form.
Wessels' broader work treats communication as a professional skill rather than decorative friendliness. His Veterinary Innovation Podcast interview makes active listening central to good veterinary communication.
2. Ask what help is needed today
“How can we help you today?” does more work than a chain of yes/no questions. It lets the client set out concerns in their own order and reduces the chance that the important second problem appears when your hand is already on the door.
A study of pet owners and veterinarians found that open-ended inquiry at the beginning of an appointment can surface concerns, build partnership and reduce late-rising topics. Open first; narrow later.
3. Listen before you organise
Active listening is visible. Let the owner finish the first account. Reflect the key point back. Clarify the timeline. Notice an emotional or non-verbal cue rather than stepping over it. You are not surrendering control of the consultation; you are collecting better information before structuring it.
In a survey of dog and cat owners, both groups ranked reflective listening as the most important foundational communication skill among those tested. Relationship-centred care research similarly links active listening with how owners judge the quality of a consultation.
4. Agree which problems come first
When a client brings a list, acknowledge the whole list and set a realistic agenda: “I hear the appetite change, the itching and the new lump. Let's make sure we deal with the appetite and lump properly today, then book enough time for the skin history.”
That is better than silently ignoring problem three or attempting three shallow consultations at once. A 15-month communication-training study found that agenda-setting questions, summarising the client's agenda and checking for remaining concerns all increased after structured training. The habit can be taught.
5. Make questions easy to answer
Specific wording produces more useful information. “How is the appetite?” invites a graded description. “Is he eating?” tends to collapse a change into yes or no. “Where would you put her comfort today on a scale from 1 to 10?” gives the owner a reference point you can revisit.
The goal is not to replace closed questions. Closed questions are excellent for confirming details after the story is clear. The sequence matters: broad enough to discover, precise enough to document.
6. Let the client hear the examination
Silence during an exam can feel like uncertainty to the person watching. Briefly narrate what you are checking and translate normal findings into concrete language: “His heart has a strong, steady rhythm” says more than “nothing abnormal.” It also shows the owner what the physical examination is doing.
Keep it truthful and proportionate. Positive wording is not reassurance without evidence. It is a clearer description of what you actually found.
7. Frame tests around their purpose
Compare “we'll take a radiograph to look for the cause” with “we need a radiograph to see what's wrong.” Both may refer to the same test, but the first gives it a purpose and direction. Likewise, explain what a recheck is intended to confirm, not merely that the owner must return.
Clear framing helps the client connect an action to the animal's problem. Research on information exchange in companion-animal practice links veterinary communication with client recall, adherence, satisfaction and participation in decisions. No single phrase guarantees those outcomes, but understandable reasoning gives them somewhere to start.
8. Recommend the Best Option for the Animal
BOA — Best Option for the Animal — keeps the recommendation anchored to the patient's welfare. Present that option clearly, explain why you recommend it, then discuss constraints and alternatives without making the client guess which plan you believe is best.
This is where “the customer is always right” reaches its limit. A good consultation respects the owner and protects the animal. Empathy does not require professional vagueness.
A two-minute review after the consult
You do not need to grade every sentence. Ask four questions:
- Did the owner get uninterrupted space to state the main concern?
- Did we agree what we were solving today?
- Did I explain what I found and why I recommended the next step?
- Did I check that the plan made sense before we finished?
Pick one behaviour to practise in the next few consultations. Communication improves through repeated observation, not by trying to sound perfect all at once. Journal.vet applies the same idea automatically: its dynamic coaching looks across recent consultations and earlier feedback so it can recognise progress and choose a useful next focus.
Frequently asked questions
Are these eight habits a formal Roeland Wessels certification framework?
No. They are Journal.vet's practical implementation of communication principles informed by Wessels' teaching and the wider veterinary communication literature. For Wessels' own full treatment, use his published book and training materials.
Do open questions make consultations longer?
They can take more room at the start, but they may also reveal the real agenda earlier. The useful question is not whether one sentence takes longer; it is whether the consultation gathers the needed information and closes with a shared plan.
Should every consultation begin with two personal questions?
No fixed script fits an emergency, a grieving client and a routine wellness visit equally. Use the principle — establish human contact and invite the agenda — with judgment.
Is “Roland Wessel” another communication expert?
Usually this search refers to Roeland Wessels, the Dutch veterinarian and communication trainer. That is the correct spelling.