A question in regard to using common industry jargon in speaking with clients: What do your clients prefer to hear? Which words are relatable to them and their understanding?
How we communicate certainly matters. We speak differently to different groups or individuals. Most of this happens unconsciously.
We don’t talk to our closest friends and family the way we may speak with a new client at their first appointment.
That first meeting with a client is important as it can set the tone for all future interactions as you work to establish rapport. Your questions should help you to understand “their story” which informs you of their desires, beliefs, and their level of understanding.
They read what you and other professionals in the industry write on the internet, and in many cases, may use jargon-laden language because of their exposure. They want to present themselves in the best light and will attempt to speak your language or to use jargon in an attempt to do so even when they don’t really understand.
In this case, it may be necessary for you to use similar language at first. This is referred to as “meeting them at their story.” It keeps the interaction comfortable and non-threatening. It provides a reassuring element to the new client that what they know or what they believe is okay for now even if they may be misguided.
Consider a client who offers that they’ve been following The Ice Cream Diet.
What not to do…
You: Are you on any special diet program?
Client: Yes, I follow the Ice Cream Diet.
You: What?! That’s ridiculous! No one can lose weight eating ice cream.
A better choice…
You: Are you on any special diet program?
Client: Yes, I follow the Ice Cream Diet.
You: You’re eating regularly. That’s great. We can use that to your advantage to make the changes you’re seeking.
You now have an element of their story. It is now your job to guide them away from what you’ve determined to be interfering with their process, and you can influence an existing behavior favorably to support their intention. This includes the language they use.
As we guide the client through an exercise program, it is not necessary to pepper our instructions with unnecessary industry jargon or concepts. There’s a difference between meeting a client at their story and how an insecure coach defaults to jargon in an attempt to prove his intellect and worth to the client. Clients don’t really care what you know. They just want a coach to help them achieve the outcome they desire.
The mythical neutral spine comes to mind in this instance.
Other than the fact that it doesn’t exist and couldn’t be identified visually if it did, attempting to create a singular ideal promotes opportunities for failure and additional, distracting cognitive load on the client. Much like those that chase “good posture” as if there is just one elusive posture that we hope to attain someday. [author’s note: Sorry. Your mom was wrong. There’s no such thing as good posture.]
While we’re on the topic, there is no one good knee position, one good foot position, one good hip position, one good neck position, or one good shoulder position. Rarely is there a best way. There should be many ways depending on the context. The ability to adapt tends to represent health in all systems.
The human body has evolved to distribute loads and stresses throughout the movement system quite well. Movement is actually quite “noisy” in that there are constant adjustments, micromovements, and micromovements that must occur to assure this distribution of load as we move.
Allowing a client to explore movement is a better choice. It allows them to evolve a sense of acceptable ranges of movement rather than chasing the imagined ideal that may actually create positions or restrictions that lead to discomfort, focal loads, and pain. Such an outcome is the failure of the coach to understand how the system moves. It is not the fault of the client or their body.
Don’t misunderstand this to be an “anything goes” proposition in regard to exercise execution. Your purpose as the coach is to guide the process within those acceptable limits rather than restrict it. Teaching the exercise or activity within its context is sufficient to arrive at a successful outcome. Eventually, the exercise becomes the exercise for the client.
A squat becomes a squat.
A row becomes a row.
A press becomes a press.
A lunge becomes a lunge.
No neutral spine cues are necessary.
