Be Compassionate

Remember that your goal isn’t to “win” the conversation. If you’re leading with compassion, the process should feel collaborative. By showing compassion and by seeking and accepting the youth’s perspective in all your interactions, you can help strengthen their own motivations and commitment to change. This intervention applies a youth-friendly communication strategy called ‘motivational interviewing’ and you can learn more about it below.

A dance, not a wrestling match

Because mental health matters. 

Why compassion?

Youth experiencing poor mental health are 1.8 times more likely to vape.*

31% of all youth who vape report doing it as a form of stress reduction.**

However, some research has found that youth who vape were more likely to report anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.

DO be compassionate throughout your conversation.

The young person you’re talking to could be going through a lot, and recognizing that could help you break through. 

* Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2022  ** Depression & anxiety symptoms linked to vaping nicotine and THC in teens and young adults | American Heart Association

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a person-centered strategy that helps people explore and resolve ambivalence. Ambivalence is the conflict of motivations. 

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    MI is about arranging conversations so that people talk themselves into change, based on their own values and interests. It is about guiding and not directing. Your ability to build rapport while supporting young people when talking about behavior change is crucially important. You don’t need to be an expert on the topic at hand when you’re leading with compassion.

“I don’t want to quit vaping. I’d find it really hard to feel left out when my friends are all doing it…”

“…buuuuut it’s getting really unaffordable, and I think it might be affecting my athletic performance. Maybe I do want to quit?”

How do you know if you did it right?

“Would they feel comfortable coming back to talk to me again?”

Ask yourself at the end of a discussion, 

If the answer was yes, then you’re leading with compassion!

Extra Credit

These free resources can help you start high-impact conversations in your community, clinic, or classroom. 

We’d love to hear what you think

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What's next?

Section 6: Ready to Learn More?

Dig even deeper into helping youth make healthier choices by exploring a wide range of to a wide strategies (e.g., more information on motivational interviewing, cessation strategies, quit plans, and more resources)

The Brief Conversations Toolkit was made possible through a financial contribution from the Ontario Ministry of Education.