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In motivational interviewing, scaling questions invite students to rate things like importance or confidence on a 0–10 scale, then use that number as a starting point for deeper conversation. What you say after the number is where the real magic happens.

Open‑ended questions are a core skill in motivational interviewing in schools because they invite students to tell their story in their own words rather than answering with a yes or no. The right questions help teachers, counselors, and other educators understand what is really going on and gently draw out students’ own reasons to change.

Administrators and deans can use motivational interviewing in discipline meetings by shifting from “delivering consequences” to having structured, student‑centered conversations about what happened, what matters to the student, and what needs to change next.

In motivational interviewing, “sustain talk” is any language that leans toward staying the same – their own reasons, needs, or intentions to keep things as they are around a specific behavior.