When working with patients, it can be tempting to jump straight to offering advice or trying to solve a problem. But what if a better starting point is simply asking questions and listening?
In SDAHO’s recent webinar, Be Curious, Not Judgmental: Motivational Interviewing for Every Patient Conversation, Loretta Bryan explored how shifting from “fixing” to curiosity can help clinicians build trust, strengthen communication and support patients in identifying their own reasons for change.
Four Skills to Put Into Practice
Motivational Interviewing uses four core communication skills, known as OARS, that can be incorporated into everyday patient interactions:
- Open-ended questions: Encourage patients to share more than a yes-or-no answer. Instead of asking, “Are you taking your medication?” try, “What has taking your medication been like for you?”
- Affirmations: Recognize patients’ strengths, efforts and progress, even when the steps forward are small.
- Reflective listening: Reflect back what you hear to show understanding and give patients an opportunity to clarify their concerns.
- Summarizing: Pull together key points from the conversation to confirm understanding and help identify next steps.
Start Small
You don’t need to add time to every patient visit to put these skills into practice. One open-ended question, a thoughtful reflection or a moment of truly listening can help patients feel heard rather than judged.
The goal isn’t to convince patients to change. It’s to create a conversation where they feel comfortable exploring change for themselves.
Want to learn more?
Watch the webinar recording to hear Loretta Bryan discuss motivational interviewing and how these practical communication techniques can be applied in patient care. Click here to view this session.
