Tool 45.2.

Attributes of a Consultative
Conversation Using LIST®
Sigma Performance Solutions
Use these tips to refine your use of LIST. The tips work well for almost any kind of difficult conversation.
 Do not disrupt/interrupt the customer’s expression of needs (for example, do not ask fact-finding
questions, give information, or provide advice).
 Actively seek to learn the customer’s perspective and concerns using a variety of active listening
techniques such as paraphrasing, open statements, and others.
 Avoid premature summary of a customer’s needs (unless clarifying customer’s meaning).
 Summarize all needs and concerns important to satisfying the customer. If the customer corrected you
or added a need or concern, acknowledge each change.
 Hear the customer’s confirmation that your summary is acceptable.
 Seek additional information needed, if necessary, before proposing a solution.
 Propose a workable solution, including who is to do what and the timeframe.
 Be sure the customer is clear about his or her responsibilities and that you depend on them taking an
action.
 Suggest a solution that respects the customer’s age, communication ability, and other special needs
(for example, new to the job, has a new boss, high level of uncertainly, or others).
 Beyond a workable solution, offer additional relevant information that the customer might need about
how to prepare for, access, or follow-up on healthcare experiences and/or use associated services.
 Obtain the customer’s acceptance of solutions (at a minimum, the customer does not reject the
solution as unreasonable).
 Recap all significant things the customer needs to remember, and do not introduce any new
information at the end of the conversation.
 Check for questions. Acknowledge concerns expressed by the customer, if given an opportunity, at
least two times.
 Customize communication for the specific customer’s ability to comprehend, free of acronyms and
words the person may not understand.
 Communicate with the customer by not disrupting his or her thought processes (for example,
repeating or rephrasing the same thought without good reason, asking closed-ended questions, or
other ways).
 Summarize the customer’s needs concisely and clearly.
 Explore at least two alternative solutions to the customer’s needs, if appropriate.
 Mention the customer’s needs during the process of proposing and presenting a solution.

LIST and Who Killed Service? are registered trademarks of and copyrighted by Sigma Performance Solutions, Inc. Published by Pfeiffer, An
Imprint of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Sigma Performance Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 Personalize your acknowledgments of concerns by expressing understanding about the impact of the
problem and acknowledging the person’s feelings, concerns, or other stressors at least twice.
 Achieve an exceptionally smooth flow of conversation with no disruptions on your part (no unnatural
pauses, stumbling for words, repeating, or rephrasing the same thought repeatedly).

LIST and Who Killed Service? are registered trademarks of and copyrighted by Sigma Performance Solutions, Inc. Published by Pfeiffer, An
Imprint of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Sigma Performance Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.