Lesson 9.4 — Advanced Micro-Drills
Train the difficult 20 seconds, not only the whole 12 minutes.
| Drill | How it works |
|---|---|
| The 10-second pause | After an emotional disclosure, pause before speaking. Then respond with one patient-specific sentence only. |
| The cue echo | Repeat one key word or idea from the patient and turn it into an open invitation: “You said ‘trapped’ — tell me what feels trapped at the moment.” |
| No-ICE challenge | Run a case without using the words ideas, concerns, expectations, worried about, or hoping for. Still uncover the agenda. |
| One-chunk explanation | Explain one diagnosis or management choice in 30 seconds, then stop and invite a response. |
| The refusal drill | For 60 seconds after a patient refuses, you are not allowed to persuade. You may only understand. |
| The boundary drill | Practise saying no to an unsafe request while preserving rapport: acknowledge → reason → alternative → safety-net. |
| The uncertainty drill | Give reassurance without the words definitely, nothing to worry about, or 100%. |
| The audio cue drill | Role-player uses only tone and pauses as cues. Candidate must notice without visual information. |
| The second-agenda drill | Role-player introduces a new concern at minute 9. Candidate must acknowledge, prioritise and make a safe follow-up plan. |
| The management callback | Candidate must deliberately use one fact from the first 4 minutes during the management discussion. |