3 Tips for Softening Sustain Talk & Cultivating Change Talk

Did you know that depending on what client language you respond to, you can shift their momentum toward change?

This is a key piece to Motivational Interviewing, which is a guiding style of communication.

We know that the more people talk about change, the more likely they are to change. This also means the more they argue against change (sustaining the status quo), the less likely they are to change.

Our job as Motivational Interviewers is to soften their sustain talk (arguments against change or language that argues for the ‘status quo’), and cultivate their change talk (arguments for change)!

These terms, “softening sustain talk” and “cultivating change talk” come straight from one of the Motivational Interviewing coding systems, the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI). MI coding systems measure the presence of MI in a conversation, and they are utilized in research. And there are over 2400 clinical trials that indicate Motivational Interviewing is an evidence-based practice!

So what does softening sustain talk and cultivating change talk mean in action?

Here are 3 Tips!

• Pay less attention to the sustain talk you hear. Get less curious about what gets in the way of change, and…

• Get more curious about our clients’ why change! Ask open-ended questions that relay curiosity about their motivations for change

• Camp out when you hear change talk, reflect it, and explore ways to grow it.

I go deeper into the technicalities of this concept in this recent podcast episode with MINT member Dr. Monica Gilbert. 

Motivational Interviewing Tip of the Week: We know from change research that the more a client talks about change, the more likely they are to change. We can subtly shift the direction of conversation towards their change talk by applying OARS skills to it (Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summaries). Try paying less attention to what gets in the way of change for your client, and more attention to why they want to change!