At its core, the interview serves as a tool for collecting information. Since the only source of information is an interviewee, the best practice in this situation is to concentrate on creating the most appropriate atmosphere for communication. According to the first part of Crawford’s (2016) video guide, an interviewer must comply with two roles: a scientist and an artist. As a scientist, an interviewer should first adequately prepare an interviewee for the upcoming session. By providing concise and exact details, he establishes the interaction framework and lets, and interviewee know what to expect. The second responsibility is to format the questions he is about to ask. A general pattern to follow is to make questions clear and open-ended to allow an interviewee to express himself and provide as much relevant information as possible; this will help in future analysis (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). Additionally, it is crucial to maintain neutrality – a misplaced critique of provided answers might affect an interviewee’s desire to cooperate.
As an artist, an interviewer should focus on empathy to build trust and rapport with an interviewee. To be willing to help, the latter should always feel engaged and encouraged (Gray et al., 2020). This can be achieved by using appropriate body language and facial expressions. The second part of Crawford’s (2016) guide showcases how much difference seemingly small details make when combined. For example, a withdrawn pose of an interviewer might signalize coldness and unwillingness to listen. On the contrary, occasional eye contact, smile, and approving nods indicate attention and overall engagement in the dialog.
To summarize, every point mentioned positively contributes to an interviewee’s perception. Adequately presented information and questions increase the person’s awareness of the situation, thus addressing anxiety and stress. Moreover, non-verbal signs of understanding, acknowledgment, and sincerity keep the person engaged and motivated. A part of the upcoming major assignment is a phone interview. I will mainly play a scientist’s role in this case since it is not a face-to-face conversation. Nevertheless, even a voice’s tone can make a substantial empathic difference.
References
Crawford, L. (2016). Interviewing techniques, part one [Video]. Walden University.
Crawford, L. (2016). Interviewing techniques, part two [Video]. Walden University.
Gray, L. M., Wong-Wylie, G., Rempel, G. R., & Cook, K. (2020). Expanding qualitative research interviewing strategies: Zoom video communications. The Qualitative Report, 25(5), 1292-1301.
Rubin, H. J., Rubin, I., S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. SAGE Publications.