Your Training
Transform your vaccine communication skills in one day. Interactive, enjoyable and empowering in-person training on the Empathetic Refutational Interview (ERI).
The power of a health worker conversation
Just one conversation can powerfully influence a person’s vaccine decisions. It’s the best tool we have. But not all conversations are effective – some can even backfire. With the right training, health workers can be equipped to unlock the potential to make best use of every conversation.
A new approach to vaccine conversations: the Empathetic Refutational Interview (ERI)
The ERI offers a new approach to understand, empathise and respectfully correct vaccine misinformation while building trust and maintaining rapport. Our training equips health workers with enhanced communication skills to empower people to make informed vaccine decisions.
You’ll learn how to:
- navigate vaccine conversations more effectively with people who are hesitant
- tailor the conversation to respect the psychological drivers – “attitude roots” – of a person’s vaccine concerns
- build trust when handling difficult conversations
- make every minute count when time is pressured
Next Steps
If you are interested in our training or have any questions, please get in touch via the links below.
Group Bookings (we come to you):
Join an Open Workshop (you come to us):
Four steps to a successful vaccine conversation
The ERI is a four-step framework for effective vaccine conversations, underpinned by empathy and the psychology behind vaccine attitudes.
- Elicit concerns with strategic questions and active listening to identify a person’s attitude root(s) and position on a scale of vaccine acceptance to effectively tailor the conversation.
- Affirm the person with up to four affirmation approaches to build trust and show empathy.
- Correct misconceptions by replacing with an acceptable alternative view.
- Inform with facts to provide key information at the right point and in the right way to support fully informed decision-making.
Understand the psychology behind vaccine decisions
The ERI is centred on identifying a person’s ‘attitude root’ – the underlying motivation that shapes their vaccine decisions. These attitude roots are the deeper psychological factors behind a person’s beliefs. People are more likely to accept information that aligns with their attitude root and reject information that challenges it. There are 11 attitude roots. Examples include ‘fear’ and ‘distrust’.
The ERI customises vaccine communication to respect people’s attitude roots, rather than directly challenge them. This powerful approach fosters collaboration rather than confrontation, builds trust and improves vaccine acceptance.
Find out more about the scientific research that underpins the ERI vaccine conversation framework.
Transformative training designed for you
Who is it for?
The ERI was developed for people who discuss vaccines as part of their role.
This includes:
- Clinicians and support workers (e.g. GPs, nurses, midwives, health visitors, healthcare assistants)
- Public health practitioners
- Pharmacists
- Community leads and outreach workers
- Reception and administrative staff
- Telephone outreach workers
- Support workers in care homes, schools and more
- Local authority children and young people services
What to expect from a training session
Each face-to-face training session is led by two expert trainers, and includes a mix of teaching presentations, interactive exercises, group discussion and skills practice in small groups.
Our training is led by psychologists with unique expertise. At every workshop we combine our knowledge with the skills and experience of those we are training for a collaborative and respectful learning environment.
Attendees come away equipped with the understanding necessary to put the skills into practice.
Handouts and resources
All participants receive printed training materials to take away, including handouts and an ERI user guide booklet summarising the core learning for future reference.
Post-course continued support
We offer continued support to create a community of practice. All attendees of the one-day course have exclusive access to monthly virtual drop-in discussion forums, led by the training team, to support ongoing learning for applying the skills in practice.
Later in 2026 we will be providing exclusive access for training attendees to online resources we are developing.
The outcomes of our training
A single day workshop equips health workers – even those with extensive experience – with new skills that last.
The change is visible: participants grow in confidence, refine their communication strategies and deepen their understanding of effective engagement. We consistently receive highly positive feedback, including reports of immediate impact in clinical practice, results that echo our established evidence base.
The investment
£8,000 + VAT (equivalent to £400 + VAT per trainee).
This includes:
- two expert trainers who travel to you.
- a suitable local training venue, refreshments and lunch all arranged by our team
- all handout materials on the day.
- post-course continued support for all attendees.
Reductions available:
- If you provide a suitable venue, refreshments and lunch, the cost is reduced to £7000 + VAT
- We are happy to discuss further reductions for teams making block bookings or for local to Bristol bookings with minimal travel.
For booking details and costs:
FAQs
How is ERI different from other vaccine conversation training like Motivational Interviewing (MI)?
The ERI was developed specifically for vaccine conversations and specifically to address vaccine misinformation and hesitant attitudes about vaccination.
It builds on Motivational Interviewing skills by integrating the core components with cognitive psychology best practice for correcting misinformation and with the newer psychological science of attitude roots.
Is the ERI easy to learn?
Yes, the Empathetic Refutational Interview (ERI) vaccines conversation framework is easy to learn. While there are nuanced techniques to learn for each step, the framework is easy to understand, remember and apply.
It has four straightforward steps, and we give practical ways to use each, including what you might hear someone say and how to respond. We do not prescribe exact words to say. The key is for health workers to speak in a way that is authentic to them while drawing on the framework. We practise using each step in our training session and provide practical resources to take away and refer back to.
You will learn skilled techniques in a way that is memorable and accessible.
How long will I remember what I’ve learnt?
Our aim with our training and resources is to support new conversation skills that will stay with you forever. Once used a few times the four-step process is easy to remember and should quickly become habit for every vaccine conversation you have.
During testing, we asked training participants how prepared they felt for vaccine conversations before and after our training. We followed up with them three months later and found they had retained the core skills as well as the gains in confidence.
Is the ERI easy to apply?
Yes, the ERI is easy to apply. We teach you skilled techniques that build on how you already have conversations by showing you a different, structured approach that focuses on empathy first and tailoring your responses to each individual.
Once you have practised the framework a few times in the training session, it’s easy to apply in real-world conversations and you can start using it straight away.
I only have a few minutes to talk to each person. Will this be enough time to use the ERI?
Yes, you can use all four steps of the ERI framework in just a few minutes. No matter how long you have, you can apply the ERI framework for a more effective and meaningful vaccine conversation.
In the training, we show and discuss a demonstration applying all four steps in a very brief conversation.
However, you are likely to have made better use of your limited time even if you apply just the first steps. Each of the four steps helps build trust and makes it more likely that someone will talk with you again or be more receptive to accurate information.
I need to present a business case to get budget for this ERI training. Do you have any proof it works?
The ERI was shown to be effective in experimental studies during its development and in field studies in practice.
For a downloadable evidence overview, please visit It works.
For further detail on the research underpinning the ERI, please visit Our background
Why is the training in-person and not online?
Our core training is in-person because we know from experience that it is important to understand and practise the ERI steps and skilled techniques with the guidance of an expert trainer.
Face-to-face sessions enable group discussion and real-time questions that are a vital part of the learning. We facilitate interactive skills practice and group reflection that cannot be replicated online. Participants can also engage with one another and share their experiences, which further promotes understanding.
The ERI vaccine conversations framework is practical, and the most effective way of teaching it is to demonstrate, discuss and practise in person.
Find out more – If you have any questions, please get in touch via the contact form or email: [email protected]
