Physical Activity Conversation Skills: A Motivational Interviewing Approach

On 2nd October 2025, personalised care staff from Broxbourne and East Herts met at Stockwell Medical Centre to take part in a new pilot training programme. This initiative combined Motivational Interviewing techniques with Active Medicine training to motivate and encourage patients to be more physically active. 

Participants came from Broxbourne Alliance Primary Care Network (PCN) and Stort Valley & Villages PCN, representing personalised care roles including Health & Wellbeing Coaches, Care Coordinators, and (CYP) Social Prescribers. The training was expertly developed and delivered by Steve Evans, Health Improvement Coordinator – Training at Hertfordshire County Council Public Health, whose extensive experience in Motivational Interviewing brought invaluable insight to the sessions. 

This pilot builds on the success of the one-hour Active Medicine training previously delivered across 12 PCNs in Hertfordshire, upskilling over 650 health professionals. The Active Medicine programme equips staff with the knowledge and confidence to discuss the benefits of physical activity, acknowledge national guidelines, signpost national and local resources, and develop positive conversation skills. Traditionally delivered during GP Protected Learning Time, the training is aimed at both clinical and non-clinical staff within GP practices. 

The new extended training offers a deeper exploration into Motivational Interviewing to help personalised care staff refine their conversational skills, enabling them to better support patients in adopting more active lifestyles. 

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What is included in the training?

The pilot training covered the following modules: 

• A refresher on the benefits of physical activity 

• Introduction to Motivational Interviewing 

• Module 1: Behaviour Change theories and models 

• Module 2: The Spirit and Principles of Motivational Interviewing 

• Module 3: Core Skills and Change Talk techniques (including OARS, reflective listening, scaling questions, and decisional balance) 

• Module 4: Goal Setting 

Each module integrated role-play exercises and physical activity-focused case studies to simulate real patient scenarios, allowing participants to practice and refine their skills in a supportive environment. 

The training targeted personalised care staff specifically because their roles often allow more time to engage with patients compared to clincians. This enables them to effectively ‘prescribe’ movement as medicine. While open to all healthcare roles, future sessions will continue to target personalised care professionals countywide. 

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What did attendees have to say?

Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive; all participants agreed the training was delivered at the perfect pace, with excellent content and facilitation. Some individual comments include: 

• "Brilliant training, great delivery and really great audience for conversations in the real world" 

• "The trainer made the training interesting and interactive as well as being very knowledgeable. Thank you, been very useful and informative" 

• "It had a great balance of humour and engagement. The trainer was engaging and open to questions" 

• "Very encouraging and easy to understand. I really enjoyed Steve's training session" 

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How do I get involved?

Following the successful pilot, the extended training will be made available to those who have already completed the initial one-hour Active Medicine course. PCNs or surgeries interested in arranging a session can contact hsphealth@herts.ac.uk. If you’ve attended the initial Active Medicine training and want to deepen your skills, we encourage you to reach us to arrange this extended course. 

Completing physical activity training supports practices working towards Active Practice status, equipping staff to confidently promote physical activity as a powerful tool for preventing and managing long-term health conditions. It reinforces the vision of ‘movement as medicine’ and highlights the vital role physical activity plays in improving patient outcomes. 

If you'd like to learn more about our diverse training opportunities for healthcare professionals, or about the wider Active Connections programme (deisgned to embed physical activity into healthcare), please contact us at hsphealth@herts.ac.uk.