Your client keeps questioning your advice. How can motivational interviewing help maintain trust?
When clients repeatedly question your advice, it can strain the relationship. Motivational interviewing, a collaborative conversation style, can build trust and facilitate understanding. Consider these strategies:
- Ask open-ended questions: Encourage clients to express their concerns and thoughts freely.
- Reflective listening: Show understanding by paraphrasing their concerns, confirming you hear them.
- Affirm their autonomy: Validate their right to make decisions, fostering mutual respect.
How have you handled clients questioning your advice? Share your experiences.
Your client keeps questioning your advice. How can motivational interviewing help maintain trust?
When clients repeatedly question your advice, it can strain the relationship. Motivational interviewing, a collaborative conversation style, can build trust and facilitate understanding. Consider these strategies:
- Ask open-ended questions: Encourage clients to express their concerns and thoughts freely.
- Reflective listening: Show understanding by paraphrasing their concerns, confirming you hear them.
- Affirm their autonomy: Validate their right to make decisions, fostering mutual respect.
How have you handled clients questioning your advice? Share your experiences.
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Its best to address the issue out in the open. For this the best approach is- • Ask open ended questions • Listen beyond the words • Respect their views and hesitations • Address the hesitations • Help resolve the mental blocks • Reaffirm their control
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When a client questions my advice, I respectfully acknowledge and appreciate their inquiries. I then strive to substantiate my recommendations with readily available online evidence of similar successful cases, or, if that's not possible, I refrain from pressuring them. Instead, I suggest they test the advice, allowing the results to build their trust in my expertise.
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When clients push back, most people double down. Smart advisors pause and pull back the curtain. —> Ask what’s underneath the hesitation. It's rarely about the surface issue —> Reflect what they say to show you're listening, not just waiting to respond —> Reaffirm their control. You’re the guide, not the dictator Collaboration beats persuasion, every time.
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When a client questions my advice, I see it as an opportunity—not resistance. Motivational Interviewing helps me lean into curiosity instead of control. By exploring their values, affirming their autonomy, and guiding rather than directing, I build trust with them, not over them. It’s not about being right—it’s about being real and walking alongside someone as they find their own reasons to change.
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Motivational interviewing (MI) is a powerful technique that helps maintain trust and strengthen the relationship with a client who is questioning your advice. By using MI, you can create a collaborative, non-judgmental space for the client to explore their concerns and motivations. Instead of pushing your perspective, you guide them to recognize their own reasons for change. This approach encourages them to verbalize their own solutions, making them feel more heard and understood. Active listening, open-ended questions, and reflective statements help build rapport and empower the client to take ownership of their decisions, deepening trust and commitment to the process.
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