Challenging Communication Carousel – Roll up your sleeves!

Target group

Veterinarians and veterinary techinicians, limited number of participants (max. 20)

Coach

Roeland Wessels
DVM, MSc, communication advisor; St. Anna Advies

Language

English

Introduction

Welcome to the “Challenging Communication Carousel”: an interactive and highly practical workshop in which we recreate the most challenging communication situations veterinary professionals encounter in daily practice. Together, we step into realistic scenarios, analyse what happens, and discover practical strategies to handle these situations with greater confidence and effectiveness.

Because communication skills are not "soft skills"—they are essential clinical skills for every veterinary professional, regardless of where they work. Whether you are in companion animal practice, farm animal medicine, equine practice, academia, industry or leadership, your ability to communicate effectively directly influences patient care, team performance, client satisfaction and your own professional wellbeing.

From a dissatisfied client and a difficult price discussion to a colleague who does not keep agreements, social media criticism or setting boundaries in a respectful but clear way—nothing is off the table in this workshop. These situations may not occur every day, but when they do, they often leave a lasting mental impact. They cost energy, create stress and can keep you awake at night, replaying conversations and wondering what you could have done differently. Over time, they can even make us forget why we once fell in love with this profession.

In practice, we often rely on improvisation and simply try to do our best. During this workshop, Roeland shows what research and real-world experience tell us actually works. What are the communication approaches that are both practical and scientifically grounded?

Together, we will explore questions such as:
How do you admit a mistake without losing trust?
How do you deal with inappropriate or boundary-crossing behaviour?
How can you motivate people who seem unmotivated?
When should you trust your gut feeling?
How do you reduce stress and workload through better communication?
How can you resolve price discussions more effectively?
How do you respond to criticism on social media?
And how do you say “no” in a way that is both kind and clear?

Expect an energetic, hands-on day filled with role play, reflection, practical tools and immediately applicable lessons that you can take back to your own clinic the very next day.

Roeland creates a safe, constructive and joyful learning environment, where participants are encouraged to experiment, make mistakes, challenge each other and learn together. Because the best learning often happens when serious topics are approached with curiosity, openness and a sense of humour. Because communication is not a talent that some people simply have. It is a skill that can be practised, refined and mastered.

And perhaps the most valuable outcome of all? Not lying awake because of your work anymore, but enjoying the good night's sleep you truly deserve. Sleep well!

Other information

Workshop will be organized in conjuction to Finnis Veterinary Congress in Helsinki Expo and Convention Center. Workshop is not included in the participation fee of the Congress. Roeland Wessels will lecture in Wednesday in the Conress and his topics will be The Foundations of Strong Internal Communication and Communicating with Clients in Challenging Situations. Participating in these lectures before the worksop is highly recommendable but no mandatory.

Workshop includes your personal and signed copy of “Tails of Terror”, the latest book of Roeland Wessels, DVM, Jolanda Jansen MSc,PhD and Prof. Theo Lam, PhD, DVM

Further information

Outi Hälli, outi.halli@fennovet.fi, +358504005710