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Informed consent doesn’t spread through confrontation. It spreads through connection.

If you’ve ever walked away from a conversation about medical products feeling misunderstood, silenced, or outright attacked, you’re not alone. The moment you bring up a manufacturer insert, especially for products like vaccines, you might feel the temperature in the room shift.

But here’s the good news: It is possible to have conversations that leave people more open than when you found them. It just takes the right mindset, language, and approach.

And when done well? These conversations don’t just inform, they change the culture!

Shift the Goal from Agreement to Awareness

You don’t have to “win” the conversation. That’s not the goal. The goal is to:

• Normalize asking questions.
• Encourage reading before deciding.
• Respect that everyone moves at their own pace.

Even if someone isn’t ready to dive into the inserts today, you’ve planted a seed. And if you stay kind, calm, and clear, they might come back to you when they’re ready.

How to Have Productive Conversations

You might have heard of the “Feel, Felt, Found” method before probably in a sales training or marketing seminar. And yes, it is often used in sales… because it works.

But here’s the thing:

At its core, it’s not about persuasion, it’s about empathy.

This method is powerful not because it convinces people to buy a product or adopt your worldview, but because it helps people feel seen, understood, and invited into a new perspective without shame or pressure.

That makes it incredibly useful when talking about sensitive topics like manufacturer inserts, medical products, or healthcare in general especially within our diverse community.

Most of us didn’t arrive at our views on informed consent through one perfect conversation. We got here because someone, somewhere, gave us space to ask questions… and we eventually found information that made us stop and think.

“Feel, Felt, Found” helps you be that person for someone else.

It shifts your posture from proving a point to offering a path, one that leaves the door open for curiosity, relationship, and real culture change.

So yes, this method has roots in sales. But when it’s used with compassion and integrity, it becomes something far more meaningful:

a way to meet people where they are and a chance for mutual openness and respect.

When people feel threatened, they shut down. But when they feel understood, they open up. The “Feel, Felt, Found” method works because it validates emotion, builds empathy, and gently offers an alternative path.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: FEEL

Acknowledge their emotion. Start by showing that you understand where they’re coming from.

• “I totally get why this topic feels overwhelming.”
• “It makes sense that you’d feel unsure… it’s a lot to take in.”
• “Yeah, it can feel a little ‘out there’ at first.”

This disarms defensiveness and builds trust.

Step 2: FELT

Share that you’ve been there too. Let them know they’re not alone in their feelings because you’ve felt that way yourself.

• “I used to feel the same way, like questioning anything meant I was being irresponsible.”
• “I felt frustrated too, like there was too much information and no way to make sense of it.”
• “Honestly, I used to think people who brought this stuff up were paranoid.”

This shows humility and relatability, not superiority.

Step 3: FOUND

Offer a discovery, not a debate. Here’s where you gently offer what you’ve found that changed your perspective.

• “But then I found the manufacturer inserts and realized they were just the official info, straight from the source. That gave me so much more clarity.”
• “What I found surprised me. The risks and ingredients were all there in black and white. It just never came up in my appointments.”
• “Once I found the Vaccine Perspective Spectrum, it helped me realize there’s way more than just ‘pro’ or ‘anti.’ There’s a whole range of thoughtful, informed people in between.”

This shifts the conversation from confrontation to curiosity.

Here’s an example of it all put together:

“I totally understand why even hearing the word ‘insert’ might make you feel anxious or skeptical. I felt the same way. I assumed anyone who brought them up was just trying to argue. But what I found is that reading inserts gave me peace of mind, not panic. It helped me make choices I could actually stand behind.”

Informed Consent Is a Culture, Not Just a Checklist

True informed consent isn’t just about saying “yes” or “no” to a product. It’s about creating a shared expectation that we all deserve full transparency, time to think, and the right to ask questions without punishment or pressure.

But in many families, friend groups, and even healthcare settings, that culture doesn’t exist yet.

That’s why learning how to speak about inserts matters so much. You’re not just advocating for yourself. You’re planting seeds in others that say:

“You’re allowed to pause. You’re allowed to read. You’re allowed to choose.”

Culture doesn’t change by force. It changes through story, trust, and consistency. Every time you approach a conversation with empathy instead of ego, you shift the culture of healthcare toward one where questions are welcome, autonomy is honored, and real consent is possible.

So the next time someone seems closed off, try:

Feel. Felt. Found.

You might be surprised what opens up.

For more tips, read the How to Have Productive Conversations about Medical Products chapter in our book, Well Considered: A Handbook for Making Informed Medical Decisions.

Also, if you’re discussing vaccines, be sure to take The Vaccine Perspective Spectrum™ quiz to learn how to connect with others with more clarity and compassion.

Now, this course is largely sourced from .gov resources. It was designed to provide you official documentation and equip you to have educated and empowered discussions about medical products. However, this course is the tip of the iceberg. Head to the next lesson for recommended resources if you’d like to learn more about these products and industry.