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Developing Mindsets

Behaviour Change: Making Commitments

Commitments that we promise to ourselves and others are a powerful force in changing our behaviours

We are more likely to do something when a social or public commitment is made. This is called COMMITMENT BIAS and is an easy strategy for you to use to increase the likelihood of people getting and keeping active. 

Simple ways you can help people make commitments to being more active include the following: 

  1. Make commitments easy: Ask people to put session dates in their phone or diary – Allow people to ‘catch up’ a session they have missed. 
  2. Make commitments attractive: Encourage people to share commitments with family/friends – Reward people who encourage others to keep commitments. 
  3. Make commitments social: Buddy people up informally based on common goals – Support the group to identify common commitments. This could be a group challenge or event. 
  4. Make commitments timely: Encourage people to make a commitment at the end of your session to the next: ‘Will I see you next week?’ – Use social media to seek and make timely reminders of commitments to sessions or goals.

Reflect

What can you do in your session to help people make commitments to be more active?

 

Behaviour Change Tactics

This resource is part of a series aimed at providing you with strategies to encourage people to develop healthier habits and maintain an active lifestyle.

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Related Resources

  • Behaviour Change: Rewarding and Incentivising

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  • Behaviour Change: Promoting Social Norms

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  • Understanding Behaviour Change

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UK Coaching Participation Team

About the Author: The UK Coaching Participation Team is relentlessly passionate about getting more people active. Brimming with energy and abundant of ideas, we’re sharing over 50 years of combined experience in coaching, teaching, leading, activating, educating, engaging and keeping people active. We strive to create the habit in children, sustain the habit in young people and adults and change the habit for people to reconnect positively with sport and physical activity.