Before coming to your training, please do the following:
As you work toward a more in-depth understanding of Motivational Interviewing (MI), you must also begin to visualize how you will implement these strategies in your working environment. MI is a multifaceted skill, meaning that there are many contributing factors for effective MI.
In this lesson, you will learn about Thomas Gordon's twelve roadblocks to effective listening as well as the ABCD model for communication. You will then reinforce that information by learning about reflective listening techniques as well as giving simple and complex reflections to associates. Finally you will practice these skills with an associate or family member to combine them and use them in context. You will see a difference over time as you use these techniques with your associates and others in your life.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
As a group, review “Thomas Gordon's 12 Roadblocks” to reflective listening (David B. Rosengren, Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook, 32). Then divide into small groups. Have each group member choose one of the 12 roadblocks and answer the following question:
Contrast each group member's experiences with instances in which either you or someone else practiced good listening skills (without roadblocks).
Watch a clip of a talk show host interviewing a guest. Watch for examples of both excellent listening techniques and roadblocks. Keep track of how many instances of each are observed.
Discuss the frequency of roadblocks and how it affected the interview.
As a group, read “A Listening Ear” (Ted Hindmarsh, Liahona, Apr. 1995, 47–48) and discuss the following questions:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Review and discuss Gordon's ABCD model of communication (David B. Rosengren, Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook, 33). Then read the following scenario and discuss the questions that follow.
You are interviewing a new associate. During the interview he says, “My bishop sent me here. He told me I could have a job here.” As he speaks, he looks down at the floor.
Take less than a minute to record your thoughts and reaction to this statement. Then, as a group, discuss:
Reflective listening bridges the gap between A and D by helping job coach trainers understand what the associate may be thinking or feeling but did not state.
Think of a time in which someone else practiced reflective listening with you. As a group, discuss:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
To be an effective listener, Rosengren (Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook, 36) proposes using the following reflective statements:
Individually, take a minute to review a few of these statements in the workbook. Then think of a time when you have or might have used one or several of these tools with an associate.
Share your experience with the group.
As a group, identify three statements associates have recently made or could possibly make to you. These statements could be representative of issues you often hear, or they could be from a current associate in a particular situation.
Read the instructions and examples given for “Exercise 3.5: Deepening Reflections” (David B. Rosengren, Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook, 54–55).
Individually, record reflective statements to address the statements associates have or could make. Write a reflective statement in each of the following forms:
As a group, review each of the associates' statements and practice reflective listening by sharing the reflective statements you wrote. Give each other feedback to refine your statements.
Divide into pairs and hold a simple conversation. One person in each group will pretend to be an associate. This person will bring up an issue or make a statement. The other will respond to his or her partner using only reflective statements. After five minutes, switch roles and re-do the activity. Discuss the results of the activity as a group.
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner's journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner's journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner's journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.