So, how do you start your massage session? Not your intake, but the part of the massage where you’re actually making contact with the client’s body. A lot of great therapists will come back into the massage room, walk right up to the table, and just begin their routine. They might start with effleurage, the nice relaxing gliding … Continue reading How to Properly Set the Tone for Massage Sessions
On a massage therapist’s first day at work, the training starts with how to say hello to a client. Easy? Oh heavens. I have had massage trainees stare at the floor. Roll eyes in a complete circle looking everywhere but at the client. Worst, a brief nanosecond of eye contact followed by staring over the … Continue reading Real Practice for Real Massage
Successful customer service with massage clients is built on communication and trust. An integral piece of building this trust are the basic courtesies of how to offer feedback at the end of a massage session. A good massage therapist will quickly discover that clients enjoy a brief discussion at the end of the massage about … Continue reading Basic courtesies when offering post-massage feedback
Chances are, if you’ve been practicing massage for a while, you are a skilled, effective, and caring practitioner and that you put yourself forward as such with a professional demeanor and appearance. But what about your massage room? Have you ever wondered what it says to your clients about you? Try doing this quick audit the … Continue reading What Your Massage Room Says About You
Massage therapists are not known for their left-brain skills. It’s hard to keep track of money, supplies, and clients and still use the powers of intuition and touch to help people. Or is it? There are some relatively simple and low-tech ways to keep track of things so you can keep up with your bills … Continue reading Running Your Massage Practice
Many massage therapists worry about providing pleasant service, but clients can be more nervous than we are. After all, it can feel very vulnerable, lying there disrobed on a table for an hour, having a therapist working hard on them. Some clients even worry that they’re somehow inconveniencing or overworking their therapist. This concern comes out in questions … Continue reading Building Connections with Massage Clients
Every field has its own language or lingo, and massage is no different. We all know about the importance of genuinely inviting feedback during massage. You can further connect with and engage your clients by empowering them with the appropriate vocabulary to comfortably and confidently give you actionable feedback. Shared vocabulary is what makes communication work. Rather than … Continue reading Effective Communication with Your Massage Clients
The other day, whilst talking to massage therapist friends about the best and worst places to do massage, we came up with lots of candidates for best, but the worst won hands down: beauty salons. Yes, it has happened to many massage therapists. It may have been a fill-in job during massage school or a … Continue reading Good Fences Make Good Massages…
Before a massage session begins, it’s not uncommon for a massage therapist to palpate their client to get a feel for the quality of their muscle tissue and where to focus their treatment. This allows the therapist to understand what techniques to use and perhaps get an indication of the underlying problem. However, palpating without also engaging the … Continue reading Palpating and Communicating with the Client
All massage therapists know that we prefer our clients to speak up during a massage if anything feels uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the necessity of this message leads us to repeat ourselves so often on this score that, if we’re not careful, the discussion about feedback becomes rote, almost robotic, as in: “by-the-way-if-anythhing-doesn’t-feel-right-please-let-me-know.” The trouble is that when we sound … Continue reading Genuinely Inviting Feedback