How do you feel when a business acquaintance asks about your family or a social acquaintance asks about your work? If you're like most of us, the answer is, "I feel good…like those people see me and care about me as a person."

Because being seen as an individual is a powerful experience that can strengthen bonds,your patients will feel good about themselves and about you when you remember to ask about their families and careers.

Keeping track of family members' names and patients' careers can be daunting, but you can overcome this challenge by making notes on a separate sheet of paper you include in each patient's chart right after each visit and review just before the next visit.

Think of this as a "tickler file" marketing device designed to grow your practice. It takes only a minute or two to update each person's information–but the dividends this practice pays can hardly be overestimated! Your "tickler file" will allow you to feel much more poised and in control, too, for instead of frantically trying to remember if Sue's husband is named Bob or Bill, you'll go into Sue's next appointment with the right name on the tip of your tongue!