The Power of Communication for Great Client Outcomes with Nishta Saxena, RD

We spoke with Nishta Saxena, Registered Dietitian, Pediatric Nutritionist, and Founder of Vibrant Nutrition to understand the power of effective communication in client outcomes. Nishta works with children and their families to find easy solutions to their feeding issues. She has honed the art and skill of being able to adeptly communicate her message amongst various mediums, from working the media as a health expert, teaching at the University of Toronto, and working directly with clients.

Let’s jump into our chat with Nishta!

You do a lot of work with the media presenting information for family and pediatric nutrition. Can you tell us a little bit about this and how this type of platform benefits the work you do?

I have been in the media working as a national nutrition and health expert for many years. I’m super passionate about the knowledge translation and communication I provide viewers with, whether it’s how to interpret the latest nutrition study, to how to effectively pack a lunch for their Little One! My 15 years of clinical experience and background in research affords me the ability to really understand what’s useful and what’s “mythological nonsense” when it comes to feeding and nutrition. I love this work because reaching this many (sometimes millions) of people helps strengthen and amplify the work we do at Vibrant Nutrition on an individual and group basis. I’m very passionate about helping families stay on a clear easy path to feeding and nourishing their kids because parenting can be challenging enough, and all parents need good, practical nutrition advice they can TRUST.

Effective communication seems to be a key theme in your ability to help clients achieve amazing results. How can communication, in your experience, impact a client’s overall outcome?

Communication is more important than anything. It helps develop rapport, build trust and clearly define strategies that will work for your clients. I suggest all my RD’s do work on developing and improving their communication skills because it’s a key piece to building a successful practice. Your client’s outcomes are 10x better when you have a clear filter for communication, which goes two ways. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but research shows, people want to work with someone who is kind, and actually listens to them!

How can someone learn how to effectively and better communicate with their clients and prospective clients?

My number one tip is LISTEN. Don’t focus on your own agenda, actually listen; to the tone, words, description, and story of your client’s experiences. If you actively listen, you can really tap into the best way to support your clients, and they can feel this. Trust is a two-way relationship, and the reason I have so many word-of-mouth referrals, or people stay with me for years as their family grows is simply because of Trust. Because when they talk, I really listen.

Which Practice Better features do you use to communicate and support clients and their needs?

I use many of the features of PB to enhance communication with clients, but even I am still learning all of the power PB has as a new-ish user! I love the Secure Chat feature, it’s so easy and convenient for clients to ask me quick questions when they pop up or they are at the grocery store. It really helps them feel supported instead of having to wait for 1 to 2 weeks to get help. The Journals are next-level for getting to the nitty-gritty of the problems my clients face. And I literally use Telehealth for hours daily, it’s seamless.

Do you have anything coming up that you’d like to share with the PB community? Where can our community go to learn more about you?

My ALL-NEW family feeding program is launching in October 2021, it’s in pre-sale right now, and it’s getting great support. There are so many families in need, and this is an exciting way to get more kids the help they deserve. I have never been more excited for a program I developed; it’s the culmination of 10 years of clinical evidence and work I have done with families, distilled into the 5 most important pillars of feeding kids aged 2 to 14. It contains all the resources parents need, including meal plans and actual live coaching with me, to make mealtime and feeding a success! Parents need to get the right information (too many FB group “fails”), the strategies that will work for THEIR kids, and the opportunity to ask questions to a real-life expert. I think it’s going to be a fun, effective, and awesome addition to the many ways we help kids and families.

Thanks so much for sharing your story with us, Nishta!

You can learn more about Nishta by visiting her website or Instagram.

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