Minimal Encouragers are a basic staple skill that assists the practitioner in joining and connecting to the client. The ability to sit with a client and to communicate while using only body language, nodding, and brief utterances goes a long way in showing the client that you are present, listening, and deeply care.

Minimal encouragers include eye contact, leaning forward, facial expressions and utterances such as Mmmmh, Hummmm, Yehhh, Ok, Really, Yes, I see, Uh Hunh

What is a minimal encourager?

Reflecting to show listening

Reflective listening is used to determine that the listener understands what the other person is trying to say (both people are on the same page) and allows the other person to listen to themselves and think about what they have said. Only by offering a reflection can the other person verify that you are hearing them accurately.

In reflective listening, you do not offer your perspective but carefully keep your focus on the other’s communication, responding to the other person by reflecting the thoughts and feelings you hear in their words, tone of voice, body posture, and gestures

Reflective listening generally comes in two forms:

Reflection of Content (or paraphrasing): repeating back to the client what they shared in a different form that highlights and shows we are listening.

Example:
- Client: “I’ve been trying to run more and am now going twice a week for about 30 minutes.”
- Practitioner: “You’ve been putting in a couple of good runs a week.”
Sometimes we may have a longer Reflection of Content that covers many of the themes shared by a client. We refer to these longer focused reflections as summarisation.
- Summarisation example: “You’ve shared about your running plans over the last month and the effects of your knee replacement surgery on this running. You’ve also highlighted the impact of the work expectations on your schedule and being able to find the time for this regiment. A key part you placed in this seems to be your motivations in the morning.

Reflection of Feeling: Noting the feelings and rephrasing the emotions that they are sharing to show deep listening and empathy.

Example:
- Client: “Yeah, but I’m just not feeling the motivation or enthusiasm I was hoping for.”
- Practitioner: “Sounds like it’s been a struggle to feel excited about the runs.”
We can combine reflections of feelings and content in short reflections or summarisations as well.
Example of Reflection of feeling and content: “Running twice a week has taken a toll on you and feels like a burden at times.”

Note: we don’t repeat what the client said...this is referred to as “parroting” and generally can feel like the practitioner isn’t really listening.

Here's a video showing some examples of these listening skills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgLfz3dh5UE

Reflective listening helps you develop the ability to be fully present with another as it:

Verbally communicates empathy
Confirms or corrects what client is saying
Stimulates further exploration of client’s experience
Captures relevant aspects of client’s message that may remain camouflaged
Allows the other person to pause, think, offer more detail and bring up what they see as most relevant or important
allows the other person begins to focus on themselves, articulate themselves more clearly, vent openly, sort out confusing issues, express and deal more effectively with emotions
allows the other person to move to deeper levels of expression at his or her own pace
helps the other person to gain insight (as they see themselves more clearly in the reflection the helper offers) and potentially arrive at their own solutions to their own problems – through increased clarity
When you can answer the question, “what is going on with this person right now?” and have your answer verified, then you are listening with precision

Watch this video example of a good reflective listening. As you watch the video note how she is listening to what the guy says and then feeding back to him what he has been saying; this is reflective listening.

Example of Active Listening (youtube.com)