Open questions for the HOF consultation: 25 by goal

The quality of the consultation depends, to a large extent, on the quality of the questions. Whoever asks "do you want lips?" hears "yes" or "no." Whoever asks "what brought you here today?" hears a story. The story brings the concern, the context, the expectations, and often the answer to a question the patient did not know they had.

This page gathers 25 open questions, organized by goal, for you to choose from according to the moment of the consultation.

How to use this bank?

Do not read the list as an interview script. The best use is to choose five to eight questions, let the patient answer, and follow the thread of the conversation. One well-used question is worth more than ten asked in sequence.

The principles of listening are in active listening in the HOF consultation, and the opening in the first minutes of the HOF consultation.

To open the consultation (5 questions)

1. What brought you here today?
2. What would you like to talk with me about?
3. How did you decide to book this consultation?
4. What have you researched or heard about harmonization?
5. What would a good consultation look like to you today?

These questions give the patient a voice and reveal whether they arrive curious, anxious, or with a fixed idea.

To understand the concern (5 questions)

6. When you look at your face, what catches your attention?
7. Since when have you noticed it?
8. In what moments does it bother you most?
9. What have you already tried to do about it?
10. If you could change just one thing, what would it be?

Question 10 is especially useful: it forces prioritization and shows what really matters. The method for recording the answers is in recording concerns in the patient's own words.

To align expectations (5 questions)

11. How do you imagine the ideal result?
12. What do you hope will change in your life or routine?
13. What would a good result be for you? And a result that would leave you dissatisfied?
14. How would you like people to react?
15. What would you not want to change about your face?

Questions 13 and 15 are the most valuable. They define the limits of the plan and give material for the record. See defining a good result with the patient and aligning expectations at the first consultation.

To learn the history and health (4 questions)

16. Have you had any aesthetic procedure before? What was the experience like?
17. How do you usually react to procedures and medications?
18. Is there anything about your health or routine that you think is important for me to know?
19. Is there an event or deadline influencing your decision?

These do not replace the medical history, which requires objective questions about diseases, medications, allergies, and pregnancy. They open room for the patient to say what the form does not cover. As for the event, see I have an event scheduled.

For the simulation and the plan (3 questions)

20. What do you notice when you look at this image?
21. What about it makes sense to you? And what does not?
22. If we started with just one area, which would it be?

Ask before explaining. What the patient sees first says a lot about what they value. See presenting the projection in the consultation.

To close and decide (3 questions)

23. What doubts do you still have?
24. How do you feel about the plan we discussed?
25. What do you need to make a decision comfortably?

The last question returns the decision to the patient and reduces pressure. See also how to close the consultation without selling and I'll think about it.

What to avoid when asking?

In short, avoid:

• closed questions as the first question;
• "why" in a series, which sounds like an interrogation;
• questions with the diagnosis built in;
• two questions in the same sentence, which muddle the answer;
• asking and answering on your own.

For vocabulary, see words to avoid in the HOF consultation.

How to adapt by patient profile?

The same bank serves different profiles, with adjustments of tone. For the anxious patient, short questions without pressure, as in anxious patient in the consultation. For the patient who arrives with a ready request, questions that probe the "why" without confrontation, as in patient who arrives with a ready request. For the undecided patient, questions that help prioritize, as in undecided patient.

And what to do with the answers?

Record the patient's words, give a summary out loud ("let me see if I understood..."), and use that synthesis as the starting point of the plan. The summary shows that you listened and gives the patient the chance to correct you. Then the record goes into the informed consent and the plan by area.