We'll now turn it over to Susan Childs. Thank you so much for your patience. I know you've come on a couple of times, so we're going to turn it over to your presentation on negotiating body language. Thank you. The third time is the charm. And yes, women often underestimate themselves in negotiations, and I love that. Know your value. Go in and declare that. You have the right to do that. You know, I mean, when you're new, you might be checking things out, but when you have that experience, you're here, you're good, and there's nothing wrong with saying that. So my presentation actually has to do with what goes beyond the black and white of the contract, and even though Dr. Cotton said not to try to figure out what the other person is thinking, you definitely should not try to think what they're thinking, but you can actually tell what they're thinking by their body language, and that's what we're going to look at. And remembering, too, that administrators and administrative staff, and especially lead CEOs, et cetera, when I'm working with a hospital or something like that, or a group, you know, we are the liaisons between the physicians and all your outside vendors and all the practices you're working with and the physicians. So we are kind of between the two of you, and we balance it, and we take great pride in doing that. So I'm actually a consultant that has written a lot about emotional intelligence, body language, and medical stuff in general, and that's why I'm here. There are no disclosures, and the first thing I would talk about is the setting, because if you're having an internal negotiation, that can sometimes be a little testy because you're supposed to be very cohesive to begin with. So if you're having an internal negotiation, then what you need to remember is you're all looking for the same goal. You can take it kind of with a grain of salt, but also be respectful to each other and knowing that you are indeed sharing the same goals as a whole. If it's external, it depends upon what you're negotiating. It could be a contract. It can be the sale of a practice. It can be a physician coming in. It can be a lot of different things, but again, remember that whatever we are looking at, it is between us, the physicians, the staff, and the patients. It affects everything that we do. Looking at physical obstacles, be aware of any barriers. If you're sitting at a table and there's this massive thing in the middle and you can't see somebody, get rid of that. Look at walls. Look at noises. You want to be in a nice, quiet place, and look at the seating. You want the room to be the appropriate size. You don't need a massive room for three or four people. You can have a small private thing that also feels better. Think about that as you're moving along, arranging the seating accordingly. That includes if you're walking in and you're a guest somewhere, to ask if you should be sitting somewhere because they may have a place that they typically sit. We are animals. We are territorial, and we have to remember that. The distance also makes a difference these days. After COVID, the distance between people, especially when standing, has changed. It used to be about 18 inches. Now it's about 24 to 36, depending upon the person, the nationality, male, female. Females like to be a little bit closer than males, and they also like to stand different ways. We'll talk about that in a moment, but also just the general appearance. Think about how you appear. Your physical appearance can make a very big difference. There was one time that I was interviewing for a new practice, and the physician that was applying had this stain on their lapel. I can still remember what she looked like only because of the stain on her lapel. It's all I could concentrate on. I just kept noticing it. Remember your appearance does make that first impression, and first impressions are made in 12 seconds. Make no doubt about that. We have to have an executive presence for a serious situation because if we don't take ourselves seriously, no one else will. As we make that first contact, that positive enthusiasm reflects that energy and expression, an expression that really builds trust. It's all about the energy. If you come across authentically and you want to be positive, they will relax a little bit because you make them feel better about being there. Begin that meeting, every meeting, with that energy. Meet someone's eyes and a firm handshake. It doesn't have to be too soft. It doesn't have to be too hard, but definitely make sure that you have that eye contact as you're doing it. Stance and gestures make a huge difference. We all know things about when you have your arms crossed and you're being stubborn, something like that. You also might be cold. You don't know, but think about this, and it is different with males and females. Standing with legs together or in front of each other, slightly crossed, that's kind of open and waiting to hear what you're going to say next. If somebody is sitting and they have one leg crossed and their knee is pointing towards you, that's kind of protective and confrontational. If you're standing and your weight is evenly distributed with the body's kind of tilted towards whoever you're speaking with, that's very good. It also shows that you're waiting and you're open and you're receptive. If you look receptive and open, they will also do that too. If they're not willing to listen or they're bored, they're going to be looking out the window. They're going to be looking out the door, look where their feet are, wherever their feet are, that's where they want to be. So think about that. They also may lean back in their chair a little bit, but they just kind of seem bored. So look at that. Stance and gender can make a difference between identifying with male or female. Males tend to talk to each other at right angles. Women tend to talk to each other across from each other because they see it as more intimate and the eye contact is more direct and it can form a closer relationship. But if you're a male and a female, just be aware of where the other may want to stand and what expresses you best and how you can best communicate because it does make a very big difference with how people feel, how close you are to them and how you're standing. So you can actually have body language work both ways. You can present with certain body language to try to get them to mirror it. We'll talk about that in a moment too, but you can also watch their body language. Body language expresses someone's true feelings. They may be saying something, but they're shaking their head, no, right? We've seen it a million times. So if you see them leaning forward, smiling, nodding in agreement, they're really into what you're saying and they're agreeing and you've got them so far, right? We said before, they're looking out the window, they're bored. If they're not willing, they're going to lean back, cross their arms. And if they're relaxed, they're going to look relaxed, just like we were just saying. If they're shifting often, crossing legs or they're unwilling to listen, you can kind of tell that, right? But if they roughly lean forward and listen, you've got their attention. You've made a really good point. You can also watch as they realign their body to match yours. That means they're also in agreement. That's also body mirroring. So if you see them doing something that you would like to imitate that you think would be positive, you can do that. Or if they're really into a conversation with you, they call that dynamically coupled. So you'll be doing this, you'll be talking to them or you're thinking about it or you're standing or sitting a certain way and they mirroring you, then you are totally engaged and you have them and keep going with that because you are just as engaged and you can do that. If they're taking copious notes, that's a very good sign. And even if you're not that interested, if you want them to think that you're interested, pretend you're taking notes, act like you're watching them just so kind of you keep, you're keeping involved and they think that you're involved as well and go along with what they're saying and then you go back with whatever retort you would like to, but show your engagement as well. And think about the kind of relationship that you want. Think about the end goal because an agreement is just that. As other people have said, you're not going to get everything. You're going to get some things. That's why they call it an agreement because it benefits everybody. And you want the body language to reflect that as well. You don't want to seem closed. You want to be very open, but you don't want to dilute your goal, as Dr. Victor said. So the best thing you can do with staff members, and think about this, it really makes a difference. Anything you're doing, you could be negotiating a practice, like I say, and a lot of your current staff members are training new staff members coming in. So make it as easy for them as possible. Be as transparent as possible and give them the best training possible so that as new people come in, they can train as easily as possible and it's streamlined along the way. If we're all supporting each other along the way, that's what makes the difference. Transparency and trust are the key with everything, with every step of the way. If you take away the fear from people as you're transitioning, as you're negotiating something important, then people will stand behind you and they will trust you and they will stay with you. And that's what we want. We want everyone to work as a team as we go through any negotiation. So work with your actions and others as you do that, and you will see everybody kind of go along with you, hopefully, and that will help with your negotiations. And that is mine. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Childs, that was a phenomenal presentation. I think the one point that kind of stuck was that if you don't take yourself seriously, nobody else will. It's really important to know your worth before going into the practice. Know what you're bringing to the table. Do your due diligence of finding out what the fair market price for the job is. And I think the key to be able to speak up is having knowledge and having backup, like webinars like this, and having a network to talk to. I, and you know, Dr. Skelting made a great point about our view-based job versus leadership position. And if you're doing an RV based job, know the RV value by that area, which is really important. Know how many RVs you get for reading echoes. Know how many RVs you get for doing cats. See if you can meet those targets. Leadership. Know your resources. Just know you have the backup.

negotiating body language

declaring value

body language cues

executive presence

trust building