And, How Does That Make You Feel??

This week, Moshe--our professor-- dared us to apply the idea of active listening to at least three people. Ok, it wasn't a dare, it was an assignment. When you are going to try really hard to be an active listener, you have a little tool box of questions: open-ended questions, clarifications, restatements, a lot of "how does that make you feel?" haha. I gotta tell you, this was a very eye-opening experience. I had no idea how much I talk!! After trying out this "active listening" idea, I realized that most of the people I talk to do just that. They are very active listeners and just let me spill my guts without seeming too inconvenienced by it. Here's an example: I tested this assignment out on my boss and he was very difficult. Every time I asked him a question, he would answer and then immediately turn the subject back to me. This game of ping pong happened for quite a while. I put all of my tools to work and STILL the conversation kept coming back to me and my life. I guess he's just a varsity active listener and I'm still on JV.

Moving on...I was really interested in the idea of Wrong Reason Health Promotion that was brought up in class this week. The name "Wrong Reason" is misleading. Wrong reason HP refers to giving our audience a reason for behaving a particular way, because that is what motivates them, not necessarily the reason that will ultimately have the medical or social consequence that public health professionals are working for.

I guarantee that we've all seen this, been manipulated by it, and used it in our own lives. Here's a personal example. When I was a teenager, my parents used to urge me to use sunscreen every time I stepped out on to the tennis court. Their reason for wanting me to use sunscreen was for the prevention of skin cancer-- the "Right Reason". But my reason for using sunscreen was to avoid getting a sunburn...and as a result, getting the skin cancer lecture from my dad, AGAIN. At 15, did I really care that there was a possibility that when I turn 45 I might get skin cancer? Not really. Thankfully, now I do, but I didn't then.

So, do I believe in Wrong Reason HP? You bet I do! Who cares if 5 year olds know the nutritional benefit of eating vegetables?! Moral of the story: If you aren't going to figure out what will motivates someone to change their behaior, before urging them to do it, your success rate will probably be very tiny.