Module 8: Give autonomy support
Autonomy support encourages participants’ volition, choice, and voice, and minimizes controlling behaviour. Using autonomy supportive strategies helps participants feel empowered, heard, valued, and motivated.
Reflection:
What are some ways that you have provided choices or created opportunities for participants to have their voices heard in your work?
Getting started:
A transcript of the video can also be found in the below text.
- Be patient and flexible. Avoid being pressuring or controlling.
- Ask about, listen to, and adapt your instruction based on participants’ goals, perspectives, preferences, and limitations related to their physical activity participation.
- Respect participants’ choices about their level of involvement and social interaction.
- Some participants may not want to interact as much as others, and some participants’ level of social interaction may differ from day to day.
Adding on:
A transcript of the video can also be found in the below text.
- Provide meaningful choices about the exercise to participants. For example, offer participants the choice to do a movement they enjoy, or to select a movement/activity that helps them work towards their physical activity goals.
- When providing options, offer a meaningful reason to select an option. (e.g. “If you would like to focus on leg strength, use a higher weight and keep the feet stationary in the split squat. If you would like to focus on stability today, try the reverse lunge.”)
- Provide opportunities for participants to contribute to decisions affecting them or the group.
- Encourage participants to listen to their bodies’ cues and respect their capabilities/boundaries when deciding how to participate in the activity or what modifications to choose. Emphasize that participants know their own needs best.
- Remind participants that they have the option to modify movements or take breaks as they need.
- Invite and encourage participant feedback – this can be done through checking in with participants during cool down, or after class (e.g., using direct messages if online, surveys, polls, or other communication methods appropriate for your organization and program format).
- Incorporate participant ideas and feedback when feasible and appropriate. Applying feedback in upcoming instruction may also benefit others. For example, having participants choose the type of music or incorporating song suggestions are small ways that can still allow them to have say about the experience.
- Provide opportunities for participants to contribute their skills and expertise (e.g., as volunteers assisting others where feasible and appropriate, or as peer instructors if some participants have sufficient expertise).
Learning Activity: Meaningful opportunities for choice
A transcript of the video can also be found in the below text.
One common way to support autonomy is to offer choices. To be autonomy supportive, choices must be meaningful. Furthermore, not all choices are feasible, particularly when working in group settings where there may be many people who may want different things, or when participants do not have sufficient knowledge to make a meaningful choice.
What is an example of a time you provided an opportunity for meaningful choice to those you work with?
What impact did you see this have on participants?
ENCOURAGE CHANGE TALK
It is important to not assume what changes participants want to see happen through their physical activity participation or to try to impose goals on them, as people often react by resisting the advice or doing the opposite if they are pressured to make a behaviour change. Instead, ask what participants’ goals are, and listen to their answers so you can help them achieve their own goals. One effective approach is encouraging change talk.
Change talk involves listening for when a person expresses a desire, ability, reason, need or commitment to improve a health behavior (like being more physically active), and encouraging them to elaborate. The more they articulate their motivation, the more likely they are to feel capable and committed to making the change – essentially convincing themselves to make the change!
Learning Activity: Practice encouraging change talk
A transcript of the video can also be found in the below text.
The next time someone is talking with you about a change they want to make to their physical activity, try the following to encourage change talk.
- Ask open-ended questions about what they want to change, and why. For example:
- How do you think that would affect you?
- What would help you make this change?
- Listen, and recognize when they express any of the following types of change talk:
- Desire to change (e.g., I want/wish/would like to…)
- Ability to change (e.g., I could/can/might be able to…)
- Reasons to change (e.g., I would feel better/have more energy/etc. if…)
- Need to change (e.g., I have/should/ought to…)
- Commitment to change (e.g., I am going to/will/plan to…)
- Taking steps toward change (e.g., I started/I actually did….)
- Ask them to tell you more about it. For example:
- How would your life look different if you made this change?
- Why is it important to you?
- What would help you make this change?
- Just this discussion on its own is supportive, and the person may have all the ideas they need to make the change already and just need you to listen and support. But if they ask for advice, you can also give them information or strategies for improving their physical activity. The key is to respond to what they are ready to hear and avoid telling them what they “should” do to avoid being controlling. Support their own motivation for change. For example, asking the participant “May I offer some examples that others have used?” (if yes, provide examples). “Do any of those ideas sound like something you would like to try?”
If you are interested in learning more about other behaviour change strategies that go beyond providing social support and are beyond the scope of this module, you can check out courses at Thrive Health Services: www.thrivehealthservices.com
Summary:
Supporting autonomy can take time and effort, but it helps participants work towards goals that are important to them and can help them sustain such efforts. Providing meaningful choice and aligning to participants’ goals creates a climate where participants can feel empowered and in control of their experience.
Making it your own:
Where could you add new opportunities for participants to make meaningful choices?
