Table 6 Recommendation 5: Display sensitivity

Use verbal and non-verbal displays of sensitivity

There are many ways you might display sensitivity when discussing illness progression and end of life. Explicit statements can acknowledge the difficulties around talking about these delicate matters. Once the topic has been raised, allowing periods of silence or brief responses such as ‘mm’ can encourage a patient to say more.

Acknowledge positives, but not too soon

A further way to display sensitivity to emotional distress is to acknowledge positives, but delay doing so until it is time to close this part of the conversation.