Ted Talk Tuesday - Barry Schwartz on our loss of wisdom

Those of you who have attended my Communication workshop know that I think one of the things that we should get rid of in our client/ patient education is scripts. They too easily come across as us selling our agenda rather than serving others. In this video Barry shows how using scripts says to our team that we don’t trust them. I believe scripts can be demoralising. They prevent our team members from using their “practical wisdom” in really serving people. He doesn’t advocate it being a free for all, just that prescriptive scripts are an “insurance against disaster but ensure mediocrity”. It reminds me of the point that Daniel Pink makes in his book "Drive" - that to be really engaged and perform at their peak, people need autonomy.

So how do we move from prescriptive scripts and avoid disaster – I think communication templates are the best balance. They give the “notes on the page” but leave the expression of those notes to the musician.