The Perfect TOUCH: A Massage Therapist's Guide to Success by Jason Garcia

Author:Jason Garcia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jason Garcia
Published: 2018-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Talker, Zoner, Informer

Fifteen years ago, if you would have asked me if most clients were the type that preferred to talk during their massage or not, I would have said they did because being a chatty person myself, I assumed others were too. One particular session comes to mind where I was, let’s just say, not reading my client well. She came in requesting a full body deep tissue session, and it took her no time to hop on the table. Once I started elbowing through some knots in her upper back, I asked her about restaurants she had gone to while visiting SF. This led into a good conversation about wine and great food. Our talk flowed through some of my favorite topics and the session seemed to breeze by.

Later that day, she wrote a review on a popular website saying she wasn’t happy with her session because her therapist had gone on and on about food and wine when all she wanted was to relax. Now, it could have been that she had a bad day or she could have communicated her distaste for culinary talk better but, nonetheless, it was an important lesson to learn.

I had assumed that her positive responses to what I had to say were a sign that she might be interested in those topics. I’ve learned that it’s me who is the talkative one that enjoys bouncing from one subject to another and not my clients. Outside of learning to hold back on my instinct to talk the session away, one of the most useful things I’ve learned over the years is that there are three kinds of communication styles that clients generally have. It’s helped me to be able to discern their want for conversation so I can try and match it before I fall into my usual talkative pattern.

Talkers: These people like to talk about everything: their previous massages, the weather, their work, family life, vacations, favorite color, future plans, sports, hobbies, and just about anything else. The difficulty is not in keeping them engaged, but in staying combobulated in our flow while trying to maintain an involved conversation.

Zoners: On the other end of the spectrum are those that are not at all there for the conversation. Their hope is to find that therapist that will take the helm and provide them with the perfect background to relax. If you like to zone out yourself then this is your ideal client, but it’s also tough to elicit any information from them during the massage.

Informers: No one is less interested in hearing about current events or the weather or is motivated to keep the conversation to relevant details on the task at hand than Informers. Updates on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it will be appreciated, and any tidbits on why you think they have what they have are golden for them. The conversation can be dry at times and focused on the treatment, but in due time they can be the most loyal clients.

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