Hi, in this video, you'll learn about an easy to remember way to effectively engage people in conversations about their values and beliefs. Healthcare professionals often say they have limited time for conversations about values and beliefs, but you can remember how to have an effective conversation in a SNAP. SNAP stands for self-awareness, staying in the now, asking questions, being curious, and letting the other person guide the conversation. Self-awareness is the first skill for a reason. It's important to know what your values and beliefs are around health, illness, and dying so you don't impose or push them on other people, become defensive, convey judgement to others when your values differ from their values, or pull away from other people because you have different points of view. All of these behaviors can bring an end not only to a conversation, but even to a relationship. You'll enhance your self-awareness in our next module. I imagine we've all had experiences when we were talking about something important to us and the person we were talking to seemed disinterested. Staying in the present moment can be challenging, especially if we're thinking ahead about what we want to say, instead of giving our full attention to the other person. I asked you to watch a video about Marina Abramovic to see how she demonstrated the power of being fully present to another person. In her Artist Is Present performance, Abramovic set opposite thousands of complete strangers in complete silence. The people who sat across from her experienced how meaningful it was to have another person be fully present to them even without words. She didn't spend a long time with each person, but Abramovic gave each person her full attention. It's that level of presence we want to offer people with serious illnesses. No matter how much we like another person, we can't know everything about them. In times of serious illness, people are often surprised at the values and beliefs that are important to others. Even loved ones they think they know well. As palliative care providers, we want to listen to everyone with curiosity and ask questions to discover what makes each person unique. You might think about being curious in this way: having a conversation with someone about their innermost values and beliefs is like being invited into their inner world or in her home. When we visit someone's home, we typically stay in the public space like a living room. Only after we develop a trust relationship are we invited into more private areas like a bedroom. We also don't enter someone's home and start rearranging their things because we like to have a lamp in the corner or prefer a chair by the window. We respect the way they have their things arranged in their home. Being curious also means that you don't focus on the fact that you have lighting in your home and places to sit. Rather, you notice the artwork or small objects in the room that express the unique personality of that person, and you ask questions about those things as a way to better understand the other person. The last skill in SNAP is letting the other person guide the conversation. Other people are the experts on their inner worlds of values and beliefs. When talking about people's values, beliefs, and goals of care, the conversation is about them and not about you. In the next video, we'll talk about tips to help you put SNAP into practice.