Despite modest effect sizes for promoting physical activity, Motivational Interviewing is one of the most well tolerated psychological interventions for managing ambivalence for exercise. In this video, we discuss some of the what, why and how of Motivational Interviewing with a particular focus on the promotion of physical activity. We discuss the strength of the top quality evidence for motivational interviewing, and cover the basic principles: the spirit of MI using the RULE acronym, the three styles of MI (directing, following and guiding), the key techniques in MI using the OARS acronym, and the 4 stages of an MI intervention (engaging, focusing, evoking, planning).
