Learn to Mirror the Widow's Language

Today I want to give two grief communication skills to financial advisors who are working with widow clients.

First, say the name of their late husband or spouse

Say things like "I really appreciated knowing John," "He made a difference in my life," "I can't imagine what you are going through right now with the death of John".

Saying terms like death, died, and saying the person's name, keeps them in the present tense. You want to do that so we can continue the conversation.

Number two is even though we want to say death, died, car accident, cancer, all of the accurate types of statements, we do want to mirror their terms.

When the widow client says, my husband passed away, or John passed on, or I lost my husband. You want to mirror those terms.

Then you are saying; I'm so sad to hear the passing of your husband, John. It is not our job to correct them. 

Those are two tips. Say their name and mirror their terms. It will put them at ease and continue the conversation.

Cheers.