What to Tell your Client During the Initial Phone Conversation

Before we start, here are some tips to give to your clients when they phone to book a massage.

Prior to their first massage, most people have a worried dialogue going on in their head that goes something like this:  “Gosh, I don’t want to take absolutely everything off just yet until I feel safe that this massage therapist (whom I’ve never met before) isn’t going to do anything inappropriate. Will they be able to work well if I leave my knickers on? Will I get a good massage if I do that? Am I a prude not to take off my knickers? Will my knickers get in the way of her (or him) working on my buttocks and lower back?”  In answer to questions like this, the answer to all of those questions is “no”, however, you’re also not going to get a good massage if you can’t relax, so just do whatever you need to do for now.

Tell them:  “If you want to get the most out of your massage, prepare to be completely naked.  As a professional, everything that needs to stay covered does. If you have lower back or hip inflexibility, then those are the areas that I’ll need to work on the most, so please take off your boxer shorts or knickers. I’ll move the towels around to cover you so that you don’t feel vulnerable, however if you really do need to leave your knickers on, then I’ll see it as a personal boundary and I will respect that. Leave whatever you need to on in order to feel comfortable.”

Now, on another topic, I know firsthand from the number of inappropriate questions that I’ve had to answer on the telephone, that a notice such as the following is good to have in your therapy room for when you see male clients. You can either have it as a sign on the wall, or as a notice that you hand to them, or if you want to truly prevent a client visiting you who has even the slightest idea that he might get “extras” while he’s there, you can say it to him on the phone. Whichever way you handle it, you will get your message across:

“It’s rare that you’ll become aroused during a massage, unless you are thinking thoughts that make you aroused while I’m working on you. That’s not to say that it doesn’t happen at times as a result of having a woman’s hands on your body, but those times are rare. If it does happen and you feel embarrassed about it, don’t worry. As long as I can see that you don’t expect anything from me, then I’ll continue with the massage and you can go into the bathroom to have a cold shower and get dressed after I’ve finished. Just take a deep breath and relax, because you’re here to relax and reduce your stress, not create it for yourself.  It’s a normal function of the body for it to react like that sometimes, however, if you ask for a happy ending – even as a joke – I’ll tell you to get dressed and leave immediately. I won’t tolerate that kind of talk. You don’t go into a chemist shop and ask for heroine or cocaine, do you? So don’t ask me to do something that isn’t appropriate. I am a professional health care provider, so please act accordingly.”

I always found that it was best not to allow the client to visit if they indicated that they were after such a service on the phone when they rang. There are other service providers for that, so tell your caller to phone someone who advertises in the adult services section of the paper or internet, not the health care providers section.

You should encourage your client to have a warm or hot shower before they have a massage, if you are able to provide those facilities for him or her. It will warm up the muscles a bit, and help start the relaxation process, and for you as the massage therapist, it is always much nicer to work on clean feet. The exception to this routine is when you’re doing a sports massage, because it is customary to work on sweaty bodies at sporting events. However, if you are working from home or a salon, and you are able to offer your client a shower, then it’s beneficial for both them and you for him or her to do so.

Tell your client that body hair is normal, and that it won’t affect the massage. If your client is particularly well covered in hair, he or she might feel embarrassed by it, so just let them know that you’ve seen many bodies and you aren’t shocked by it at all. Even if they haven’t waxed for a while, it’s still fine to get a massage. It won’t interfere and it won’t stop you doing your job.

Advise your client that this is their massage, and if they can’t cope with the pressure that you are putting into your work then they should speak up and say something. Each individual has different levels of tolerance to pain, and if something is hurting, they should say so.

Tell your client that you will need to ask some health questions, and that they should be honest with you in their answers, because it might mean that you need to modify or postpone the treatment.

What you’ll Read in the Next few Articles

In the next few articles you will find an explanation of the muscular anatomy of the human body. You can refer to these articles to understand where all the muscles are, and this will assist you when working with the body. There is no faster way of learning than to simply get in there and do whatever it is you are about to learn. What I’ve written in these articles will help you to get started doing some basic techniques of massage without having to wade through dense, unreadable physical therapy texts that give the perception that massage is a cold, impersonal experience.

By placing your hands on the body as you massage you will begin to get an understanding of the layout of the muscular system simply by being able to feel the muscles as you work with them. Then when you refer to the diagrams in later articles, human muscular layouts will all make sense to you. If you want to learn about human anatomy through playing an interactive game on the internet, here’s a fantastic link to a site that will help you quickly learn where the various muscles are:  Anatomy Arcade

If you continue to take an interest in beauty services you will eventually learn much about the body and how it works, as well as how you can assist in the improvement of various conditions that your clients will present you with. When you provide a massage, you take on the role of a healer: no amount of meditation or pill-popping can shift the physical symptoms of stress in the same way that a massage can. Massage helps the body access it’s own resources to enable the build-up of toxins to be released, allowing the muscles to finally relax. And when you combine it with stimulating the Reflexology points on the feet and hands, the results for your clients are fantastic.

When asked to provide a healing and/or relaxing massage, it may be to produce a more youthful appearance; to enhance the beauty already there; to gain the assistance needed to prepare for a special event; or to have you provide a calming and soothing solution to a stressful life-style. Massage is still one of the best alternatives to the need for drugs to produce the relief needed from such a lifestyle, and many people will seek you out to provide the service of massage if you are able to offer it.

So let us begin to gain a greater understanding of the body so that when you provide a soothing and relaxing massage you will know what you are doing.

♥

Read more in the next article titled: The Muscular System