Nicol is a graduate of Glasgow University Veterinary School in Scotland. He initially set out with plans to become a surgeon, but almost immediately was drawn into general practice by the interaction with pet owners and the problem-solving opportunities that cropped up each day. Initially, this meant finding and fixing animal problems, but quickly it became clear that there were plenty of problems with how practices worked as well.

Driven to fix these problems, Nicol was a constant thorn in his bosss side and eventually, after years of nagging, was given the opportunity to mentor his first junior vets. After his initial attempts fell someway short of expectations, he realised that raw enthusiasm alone was not going to be enough. So he began a journey to educate himself on how to be a better leader and coach.

Fast-forward more than a decade and Nicol has undertaken a huge amount of business training and research, building a reputation as a successful business leader within the veterinary industry. He has managed large teams of vets in corporate practices in Britain and has more recently owned, managed and successfully sold his smaller veterinary hospitals in Australia too.

Prior to relocating back to the UK, Nicol sat on the board of Love That Pet Group Australia as Chief Veterinary Officer, where his principal responsibilities were creating and maintaining the standard of clinical care and the building and development of the clinical teams.

Nicol has authored four books, published hundreds of articles in Europe, North America and Australia, and produced a best-selling online training course for vets, nurses and managers.

It is his personal mission to help pets and their people live happy, healthy lives by exploring the daily challenges we face, creating solutions and helping others to grow.

	Are you taking time to listen to your clients, or are you rushing them along so you can move on to the next appointment? According to veterinary practice management consultant Dave Nicol, BVMS, Cert. Mgmt MRCVS-a 

 speaker-listening is the one of the most fundamental needs we have as human beings. Mastering good listening can help deepen your bond with clients, Dr. Nicol says.

	“Listening is one of the most important skills for us to learn as practitioners,” Dr. Nicol explains in the video below. “The problem is, no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

	So what can you do now to improve your listening? Start by asking the right questions and then listen long enough for the answer, say Dr. Nicol.

	“Lots of vets when they get told something that's going on with a pet, they don't listen for long enough, they don't then dig deeper into the ... problem,” he explains. “When you do that, you are missing out on the opportunity to deepen the relationship.”

	Watch the video below for more ways to become a better listener.

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Stay connected with your veterinary clients by working on your listening skills. Veterinary practice management specialist Dave Nicol shares a few techniques you can implement in your practice to help strengthen your listening skills. 

How to talk less and listen more

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