Motivational interviewing focuses on change talk. This is talk leaning in the direction of change and tends to be associated with successful behaviour change outcomes.

The acronym DARN-C can help to recognise change talk:

• Desire
• Ability
• Reason
• Need
• Commitment

More information on listening to change talk can be found here.

Eliciting change talk

Examples of strategies for eliciting change talk can be found here and here.

Responding to change talk

Strengthening the client’s motivation to change using EARS:

• Explore
• Affirm
• Reflect
• Summarise

Examples of EARS can be found here.