Listening and Speaking in Interview Analysis - Assignment Example

VIDEOED INTERVIEW Author’s Name Course Instructor Institution City Date of Submission VIDEOED INTERVIEW ANALYSIS Jun Ming Zhu Introduction Critical analysis of an interview is essential as it allows one to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the interview according to the objectives. The analysis should hence take to consideration, the topic of the study, attitude of the interviewee and the goals of the interview. Listening and speaking are a great deal in interview analysis and should be critically assessed. The outcome should be helpful to the interviewer and the interviewee. 1. Critical Analysis of the attending skills I applied a number of attending skills during the interview. I practiced non-verbal communication skills where I nodded and maintained eye contact to show the client that we are together in the discussion. My dressing code was not formal as I was interviewing a fellow student. My dressing code was meant to bring universality between me and the client making her feel comfortable to share the information I enquired from her. I also ensured that throughout the interview I did minimal talking and allowed the interviewee to do the greatest part of talking. I spent much of my time listening to the client as also observed her reactions so as to learn her attitude towards social works. I used the appropriate language while interviewing the client and avoided to use words which could lead to harming the mood of the client as this would have negative results on the whole interview process. Therefore, also my client and I did not have much in common in terms of the region of origin and such, I watched by language to the highest degree to avoid offenses. I was also confident but kept it moderate by avoid overreaction to the responses I received from my client. I did not have too little or too much confidence as it could ruin the results of the interview. I also composed and contained myself so that my questions could not appear desperate to the client as this would have made her suspicious of the interview and could have led to biasness of the responses. Here I applied Egan’s theory, I sat strait, with an open posture. I also leaned forward and maintained eye contact to express interest of the information from the client. Additionally, my relaxed posture enhanced the comfort of the interviewee to speak openly. 2. Critical Analysis of use of influencing responses Influencing responses are vital for the interview as they cause the client to give all the information which is required for the achievement of the goal of the interview. I told the client my name, the intention of the interview and its purpose for my academic performance. In the 58 seconds, I also explained to the client the duration of the interview will be about 15 minutes to keep her informed on the time length she expected to be interviewed. I also asked the client to be real and honest while answering the questions and also informed the client that the video would be recorded and viewed by the teacher and my classmates for the course purposes within 1 minute. In I minute, 22 seconds, I made the client understand that I am a student and therefore I was not in a position to give professional information about the topic that we were discussing. “I may not help you with professional knowledge”. This was a great way to influence response from the client because I assured my client that the information will not be disclosed to anyone and was to be used for education purposes. The self-disclosure made my client to see the genuineness in me to carry out the study. The self-disclosure also helped the client to feel the universality between us hence the client would not be in doubt of whether to give the information or not. The self-disclosure built a positive feedback as the client answered all the questions I asked with the satisfactory information. I also used questions throughout the interview. I used closed-ended questions where the client either answered yes or no. However, since closed questions limit the information from respondents I also included the open-ended questions where there was a need for elaboration. The questions were a tool to foster communication from the clients through answering questions. I was able to narrow down to the discussion questions through use of the closed questions during my interview especially where I needed specific information. For instance, I identified the attitude of the client towards the course through asking closed questions. Additionally, I used open- ended questions where I needed the explanation of the closed questions, for instance, when I asked the client to tell me why she was worried about her future job. More so, the questions gave me the capacity to elicit the thoughts and the feelings of the client towards the topic of the interview. For example, I asked the client why she decided to do social work as her course of study; she was triggered to give her perspective about the course. She also gave details about her choice for the course. I also applied immediacy in the course off the interview to influence the self-disclosure of the interviewee about social works as a course (Nee 2005, p. 9). 3. Critical Analysis of use of listening responses Listening skills are essential for effective communication. Therefore, I did less of talking and listened and observed the reaction of the client. I applied the listening skills appropriately so as to get as much information as I could from the client I was interviewing. As I listened to the client, I paraphrased the information she was giving me so as to confirm whether she meant what she was saying about the course and the future career in the line of her studies. For example, at 6 min and 25 sec, I say, “…so you have limited information about social work...” to show the client that I understood her situation. I could also summarize some of the points that the client gave as responses. The summary highlighted all the main point and through closed questions I reconfirmed the responses from the client influencing the interviewee to give more information on the summarized points. The summary was effective to show the client that we were on the same page and hence she would feel honored that I was listening to her. For example in the 5 minute, 15 seconds, I say “ so you like helping people, but you know nothing about social work, can you tell me more about this study…” this was a summary of a long statement that the client had given and brought it up so as to narrow down to a specific point. Here, I was looking forward to hearing the attitude of the client about the course as well as specific reason why she is passionate about social works. Furthermore, the points which could not come out clear from the client required clarity (Hall 2012, p. 85). I therefore used clarity efficiently to ensure that I get the right information from the client. I also used reflection responses to make the client aware that she was being understood. As I rephrased the client’s prompts in my own words the client was able to listen to her own thoughts in a different way. This created an appropriate environment where the client opened up to speak about social work in her own country as well as in Australia. The client also felt comfortable in the discussion such that she did not fear to express her likes and dislikes after feeling honored that I also listened to her. 4. Critical analysis of the stakes of interview Empathic relationship I observed empathic relationship where I expressed my emotions when the interviewee expressed about her worries of whether she will get a good job after completion of the studies. As I was paraphrasing some of her statements, I was trying to bring a social equilibrium where the fellow student who was my interviewee would feel that we are in the same level of education. According to the interviewee, she did not understand why the social work had to be based on the Australian policies yet she is from a different region. As asked her questions after observing her expression, my tone was empathetic assuring the interviewee that I really understood what she felt and I also understood her situation (Lowenstein 2016, p.55). At the same time, I wanted the interviewee to continue giving the information and therefore I had to console her through verbal regulation. Here, I built rapport by being empathetic as listened to the client and as I asked question on why social work is not embraced in her homeland. Story and Strengths The storyline is reliable and the strength is attributed by the explanations of the reasons that are behind the interest of the interviewee into the course. In addition, as the interviewee describes her background in terms of culture and perspective of people who have studied social works before her. The strength of the stories that are explained by the interviewee is also attributed and fostered by my questions which are brainstorming at this juncture allowing the interviewee to think beyond the interview response context. As she explains about her performance and what she is looking forward to do to succeed, the interview becomes interesting for both of us and therefore it can easily captivate the attention of the audience. The story The systematic flow of the story is an important driver to a successful interview. When the ideas are produced in an order that can be followed easily, the interview becomes interesting. The interviewer gets the capacity to predict the next question and relates it with the earlier given answer. The interview takes another path where the interviewee explains about her performance and what exactly hinders her from performing excellently. As I listened to her I could observe the determination in her to overcome the language barrier which according to her hinders excellence in her academics. The expression of the interviewer led me to asking motivational questions enquiring her to continue explaining what she expects from the course. The concept of integration is covered when i asked the interviewee whether she had made friends in Australia to help her comprehend the English language. The open ended question and the appropriate environment that I created made the interviewee to feel free to share about her life. In 7 minutes, 46 seconds, she says.” Actually my boyfriend is Australian….” This was an indication that the interviewee had trust in me and there was a great possibility that she was giving an honest story. She explained that she had difficulties in starting a conversation and in most cases; she waited for her friends to ask anything so she could answer. The answers made me encourage her as I continued to conduct the interview (Smith 2010, p 76). I asked her if she could talk to her boyfriend about her problem so that he could help her learn English easily and fast. Goals The goals of the interview are the guiding principle on the questions to ask and how to ask these questions to get the right answer. The goal of this interview was to assess the perspective of people on the social work as a cause and the challenges they face while studying. The goals were hence achieved as I got information about all the aspects of my study. Her major goal is to work as a social worker back in her country because the career is not embraced there. I fostered her willingness to gain enough skills through consulting the fellow students and the teachers as I advised her to practice these strategies. Restory The client’s first information about her background acted as the reference throughout the interview. The interviewee hence expressed mastery of her challenges and culture in the context of the pursuit of her goals of being a social worker. The expression and my listening skills and the reference to the initial story expressed the stake of the interviewee. I advised her to start voluntary services in the community as it will equip her with the necessary skills for the future career. Action The interview was a success to both of us. I tried to ask brainstorming questions so as to make the interviewee make a decision to improve on her weaknesses. She was positive about talking to her boyfriend about her problems and active participation on community development. The interviewee was hence willing to try offering voluntary services to the community. She agreed that within the four-year course she will go to the field to volunteer so as to gather information and skills about social work which she will apply in future 5. Critical analysis of collaborative relationship with the interviewee The collaborative relationship between my interviewee and I were identified by the cooperation of the interviewee and the willingness to answer the questions. In addition, arguments did not arise from the interview. She also expressed her weaknesses that had resulted from the foreign language in Australia; this was a sign that the interviewee trusted me and was hence collaborative. I advised her to consult her friends especially those who take the social work course so that she can English language since it was her only hindrance in academics. The client took in my advice and promised to start the strategy so that she can perform better in social works. Conclusion A critical analysis in social work looks at various factors affecting the interviewee and the interest of the interviewer. The analysis should hence assess all the aspects to identify the strengths of the interview. For instance, the verbal and non-verbal expressions have great impacts on the quality of the interview. References Read More