Kahlil Gibran said: “The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.” I can’t think of any wiser words for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants.
Part of our jobs as CLNC® consultants is to translate those complex medical records, issues, terminology and more into easy-to-grasp concepts for our attorney-clients. In so doing you’re making obvious that which was not previously seen.
Expressing complex thoughts doesn’t always come naturally to registered nurses. The first time I gave a verbal screening opinion to an attorney-client, I articulated the case like I was defending a dissertation. I communicated the case just like my nursing instructors taught me to communicate about my patients.
The attorney came right back at me, “Okay Vickie, let me summarize what you just said,” and proceeded to articulate the case in three succinct sentences. In that one meeting I got an education I never received in nursing school. That attorney taught me the power of using fewer words and getting straight to the essence of the communication. He made the obvious seen because he expressed it simply.
In short, if you can give your opinion in one sentence, don’t use ten. The longer and more complex the communication, the higher probability of not just losing the attorney’s attention, but of obfuscating the point for the attorney, jury and everyone else (including yourself).
Trial attorneys are masters at creating the obvious by expressing it in a simple manner. If you’re going to communicate with the masters, you need to learn to communicate the way they do. The more you learn to express complex issues simply, the more effectively you’ll communicate. Your CLNC success depends on this obvious fact.
Success Is Yours!
P.S. Comment and share how you make the complex simple and obvious.