Persuasive Interview: The Persuadee

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Chapter Summary

• Client – Counselor Relationship

• Listening Skill

• Empathy and Silence

• Be a Responsible Participant

• Be an Informed Participant

• Be an Active Participant

• Summary

Client-Counselor Relationship

• Establishing Rapport with the client – Gaining trust

• Observation of the client – Especially of non-verbal behavior

• Self-Disclosure (revealing personal information) – Can be useful for normalizing experiences with the

client

Client-Counselor Relationship

• Using Open-Closed Ended Questions – Open-ended questions warrant explanations – Closed-ended questions warrant “yes” or “no” responses

• Echoing, Restatement, Summarizing – Can provide more information about the client’s thoughts

and feelings – Shows the client you are listening

• Continuation – Encouraging a client to follow a certain course of

discussion

Listening Skills

• Helps to Build Trust and Shows Understanding

• Encourages the Client to Reflect on What He or She Has Said

• Ensures That You Are on Track and Facilitates Gathering Information

Effective Listening Involves

• Calm Yourself down • Stop Talking and Don't Interrupt • Show Interest • Don't Jump to Conclusions or Ask

Questions • Actively Listen • Concentrate on Feelings • Concentrate on Content • Maintain Appropriate Eye Contact • Have an Open Body Posture • Be Sensitive Personal Space

Empathy and Silence

Emphaty • Rogers’ “To Perceive the Internal Frame of Reference of Another as

if One Were the Person, but Without Ever Losing the ‘as if’ Condition”

• Carkhuff Scale Measures Empathy & Operationalizes Rogers’ Definition

• The Carkhuff Scale 1-----------2------------3-----------4----------5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 Silence • Gives Counselor and Client Opportunity to Formulate Response • Silence (Pause Time) Varies as a Function of Culture

Be a Responsible Participant

• Both parties share ethical responsibilities

• Be honest

• Be fair

• Be skeptical

• Be thoughtful and deliberate in judgment

• Be open-minded

• Be responsive

Be an Informed Participant

• Psychological Strategies – Standard/Learned Principles: We may act

automatically during persuasive interviews – Contrast Principle: Look for real differences – Rule of Reciprocation: We feel obligated to return

favors – Reciprocal Concessions: One concession deserves

another, or not – Rejection then Retreat strategy: Persuaders may

ask for a lot and settle for less

Be an Informed Participant

• Language Strategies – Seek the meaning of symbols

1. Framing and Reframing – The use of language to frame or construct the way we see people,

places, things, and objects.

2. Appealing to people – For many, majority rules – Persuaders use the bandwagon tactic when they urge others to

follow the crowd.

3. Simplifying the Complex 4. Dodging the Issue

Be an Informed Participant

• Logical Strategies

– The ways persuaders attempt to reason with us:

1. Reasoning from example or generalization

2. Reasoning from cause-to-effect

3. Reasoning from fact or hypothesis

4. Reasoning from sign

5. Reasoning from analogy or comparison

6. Reasoning from accepted belief, assumption, or proposition

7. Reasoning from condition

8. Reasoning from two choices

Be an Informed Participant

• Evidence

– Assess the reliability and expertise of sources.

– Insist on both quantity and quality of evidence.

Be an Active Participant

• The Opening

– Be an active and critical player in the interview.

– Play an active role in the opening because it initiates the persuasive process.

Be an Active Participant

• Creating a Need or Desire

– Ask questions, challenge arguments, and demand solid evidence.

Be an Active Participant

• Establishing Criteria

– Criteria enable you to weigh evidence.

Be an Active Participant

• Presenting the Solution

– Be sure the solution meets the need and is the best available

Be an Active Participant

• The Closing

– Take your time when making a final decision

Summary

• Good persuasive interviews involve the interviewee as responsible, informed, critical, and active participant who plays a central role.

• It is a mutual activity in which both parties play active and critical roles.

• Interviews are a chance for the interviewee to act ethically, listen critically, raise important objections, and recognize common tactics for what they are.

Resources

• Stewart, Interviewing Principles and Practices © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

• The Helping Interview : Skills, Process and Case Management © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.