DISC for Improved Communication
Posted on:
September 2, 2022 | Become a Doula, Doula Training
Attunement through effective communication is the foundation upon which a birth professional’s relationship with their client is built. Understanding how to communicate with each client in the language they will receive best is an essential skill for all birth professionals.
DISC is a tool that allows birth professionals to understand the communication, and decision-making styles of each individual they support.
By speaking in a way that others understand, they are able to make a lasting impression and begin to create a genuine bond. A rich understanding of DISC will enable you, as a birth professional, to facilitate comfortable communication and lead clients to their best possible decision-making processes.
There are four basic personality styles. While each individual will have characteristics of each personality style, they also have a primary and a secondary personality style that is most prominent.
It is essential to remember that personality styles are fluid. As a result, being able to identify and speak to the personality type that a client is expressing at the moment is a skill that will highly benefit birth workers and, ultimately, their clients.
Have you ever had a client who said they wanted one thing, and you helped them prepare for that outcome? You spent time planning, maybe practicing how to ask for what they wanted or needed. But then, in the moment, the client makes a very different choice. Some may even make choices that contradict the desires they previously expressed.
This is just one reason why a deep understanding of DISC is so invaluable.
Under the pressure of the moment, the client’s personality style and decision-making process can shift. What served them previously, or what they needed from you, no longer applies. Now, in an instant, they need something completely different.
DISC prepares you for that shift. It enables you to respond to the presenting need in a way the client receives well. It enables the client to feel seen and heard.
Isn’t that the very reason we do this work?
If you’re interested in learning more about utilizing DISC in your personal and professional life, check out DISC: A Personality Assessment Tool on the Doula Learning Channel. You and your future clients will be so glad you did!
