Interviewing Skills and Plan for Improvement

Interviewing Skills and Plan for Improvement

This will be broken down into each section evaluated on the University of Phoenix Video Feedback Checklist. Within this I’ll simultaneously discuss what my strengths were, what needs improvement and how I plan to do so. The professional reviewer I used was Janice King, the Elementary Counselor at the American Cooperative School of Tunisia. She has been a counselor for over nine years and was very insightful.

The video was supposed to be 15 minutes, but our discussion got so entailed that it ran for over 35. Unfortunately, the goals portion was not recorded, because the DVD I used only ran for 27 minutes and I lost track of the time. I found it rude and felt uncomfortable to keep looking at my watch once she started to get into a serious discussion and sort of forgot about the role play. My student checklist had a short summary of what was established along with the goals that were set and this was shared with Ms. King.

The first area evaluated was my nonverbal behaviors. Overall both Ms. King and I felt I had good nonverbal communication skills, particularly with eye contact and gestures. She didn’t feel I was too animated, which was something I was conscious of and tried very hard to tone down a bit. This was a problem in my first interview. The two things Ms. King mentioned were firstly, I touched my face too much and secondly the position I sat in. She stated that I needed to keep my hand away from my face as it was distracting at times. I noticed this also, particularly in the beginning when I was a bit self conscious about the taping. The second thing she noticed was that I sat with one leg bent under my other, not crossed, but rather tucked under. I do this in class once I become comfortable. This is a comfortable position and I may have sat this way because she was a friend and it was in my living room. Ms. King and our course text mentioned it looking more professional to sit with both feet on the floor. I will try to be more conscious of this in my future courses and practice this in my own classroom to see if I can adapt myself to it. I personally like to sit the other way in my classroom as I have the impression it makes the class and myself less formal and more open which is the atmosphere I aim for. I will sit as recommended and pay close attention if it affects my teaching style and responses of my students.

The only other nonverbal remarks she made were directed towards my expression of empathy. She noted that I seemed to have given good cues throughout, expressing empathy, but at one point when my friend seemed most distressed, I could have moved closer to her or leaned in a bit. That was in interesting point and this is something I feel very comfortable doing with my young learners, but do hesitate with adults. I’m never sure of ones personal body space and do hesitate. This is something I would like to attempt in class with students who have concerns. The one thing that always throws me is the cultural differences in body space. Working with so many nationalities, I am a bit unsure how close is too close.

The second category noted was “Beginning the Interview”. I welcomed my friend and shook her hand. I did not, however, explain the roles on tape. We had previously discussed what was going to happen before the tapping and I then neglected to do this on tape. I also explained the time frame and allowed her to choose the topic, but I failed to pay attention to the time and ran far over the time limit. This would be a huge concern if this had been a professional setting. The irony in it is Ms. King said it was great of me to allow her to continue to tell her story once she really started getting to the heart of the problem, but in a realistic situation, my next client would not be understanding of this. Therefore, much like my own classroom management issues, I will need to pay close attention to time limits and possible make notes before hand of points or areas I would like the client to work on or discuss in that session.

The area Ms. King said I did well on, which was pleasing to hear was that I “allowed her to talk freely and no interruption.” This really pleased me, because I have a natural tendency to interrupt and finish other’s sentences. I also have a tendency to interject my own similar experiences which I have learned is something to avoid or be cautious of in clinical situations.

This leads into the next category of “Minimal Encouragers”. This was good like my nonverbal communication skills. I nodded regularly and made the appropriate sounds to communicate understanding. It seemed to be timed appropriately and spaced well. However, Ms. King noted that I didn’t allow for the awkward silent pauses to last long enough. She mentioned that I need to allow the client to get uncomfortable and beginning volunteering more information rather than me searching for the next place to start. She said, this took time, but was necessary for the client to work. Most clients are not as willing as my friend to offer such good information so easily. This is also an area of weakness in my own classroom, which is not good for language courses. I need to give my students time to think about what they are going to say rather than assist them. Then they just parrot my phrase and move on. This is a good are for me to work on and will be natural to do in my current profession. It will not be easy to do, as it makes me uncomfortable, but necessary.

This leads to the next section of “Reflection of Content” This is a weak area for me, according to Ms. King. She noted that I was often unsure at times what my friend had said. At times I exhibited this expression of searching for the right thing to say next. I personally think this was due to my lack of confidence in the topic of “Empathetic Reflection of Content” discussed in our course text Interviewing in Action. This was an area I found difficult and when discussing with my friend, I noticed this kept coming up. Do I ask about her feelings? Should I reflect on the negative statement or the emotion I’m assuming she is feeling?, etc. I was really concerned about my questions and were they helping her to discus freely or was I guiding her in the direction I thought she should go. I really wanted my friend to guide me, rather than me lead her.

However, ironically Ms. King noted that I had “good questions and was supportive throughout”. This was a surprising response to me, because I felt that was my weakest area. Either way, this will be an area that