Effects of micro- and subtle-expression reading skill training in medical students: A randomized trial

• Communication skills are an important component of medical school curricula.
• METT and SETT improve micro- and subtle-expression reading skills in medical students.
• METT, SETT may be useful in implementing curriculum for teaching medical interviewing.

Objectiveto investigate the effectiveness of the Micro Expression Training Tool (METT) and the Subtle Expression Training Tool (SETT) to help improve the non-verbal communication skills of medical students.MethodsIn a randomized controlled trial, all participants were randomly allocated to either a training (n = 41) or control group (n = 41) and were pre-tested before education with METT and SETT at baseline. Then, training students took second tests after a 1-h class about interpreting micro and subtle expressions and control students took the second tests without the class.ResultsMETT pre-test scores were positively related with female gender, agreeableness, whereas SETT pre-test scores were negatively related with age and positively related with female gender. Mean METT score increases of 29.3% and mean SETT score increases of 36.2% were observed after training, whereas the control group achieved only a mean METT score increase of 11.0% at second testing. Increases in both test scores in the training group were significantly higher than in the control group.ConclusionMETT and SETT are effective, simple tools for improving the micro- and subtle-expression reading skills of medical students.Practice implicationsMETT and SETT can be effective for improving the non-verbal communication skills of medical students.