Lecture 1 Attending Behavior PDF

PT21103 INTERVIEWING AND OBSERVATION SKILLS AT T E N D I N G BEHAVIOR SKILLS DR. CARMELLA E. ADING DR. JUSIAH IDANG Introduction: Attending Behavior: The Foundation Skill of Listening O Attending behavior O is supporting client with individually and culturally appropriate verb...

PT21103 INTERVIEWING AND OBSERVATION SKILLS AT T E N D I N G BEHAVIOR SKILLS DR. CARMELLA E. ADING DR. JUSIAH IDANG Introduction: Attending Behavior: The Foundation Skill of Listening O Attending behavior O is supporting client with individually and culturally appropriate verbal following, visuals, vocal quality, and body language/facial expression. O First introduce in the helping field in 1968 by Ivey, Normington, Miller, Morill, And Hease. O Listening is the core skill of attending behavior and is central to developing relationships and making real contact with clients. O Listening is more than hearing. ATTENDING BEHAVIOR O One way to understand good quality listening is to experience the opposite—poor listening. O Activity: O Find a partner to role-play a session. O Spend 3 minutes role-playing a poor and ineffective listener. O After the role-play session, ask the “client” how he or she felt “inside” or emotionally when the “interviewer” did not listen. O If no partner is available, think of a specific time when you felt that you were not heard.  When you use the microskills, you can anticipate how a client is likely to respond. Attending behavior has predictable results in ATTENDING conversations with clients. BEHAVIOR These predictions are never perfect, but research has shown we can generally expect specific results from various types of helping interventions (Daniels, 2010). If your first attempt at listening is not received well, you can intentionally flex and use a different skill.  Attending Behavior (cont.) Attending Behavior: Support Anticipated Result: Clients will your client with individually talk more freely and respond and culturally appropriate openly, particularly about visuals, vocal quality, verbal topics to which attention is tracking, and body language, given. Depending on the including facial expression. individual, client and culture, eye contact, vocal tone, completeness of story, and body language will vary.  Attention is the connective force of conversations and Awareness, empathic understanding. Knowledge, and We are touched when it is present. Skills of Attending We know when someone is not attending to us. Behavior and Attending behavior is the first and most critical skill of Empathy Skills listening. It is a necessary part of all interviewing. Sometimes listening carefully is enough to produce change. 3 V’s + B Visual/Eye Contact Body 3 V’s + Vocal Language Qualities B Verbal Tracking 3 V’s + B (cont.) O “3 V’s + B” 1. Visual/eye contact. Look at people when you speak to them. 2. Vocal qualities. Communicate warmth and interest with your voice. 3. Verbal tracking. Track the client’s story. Don’t change the subject; stay with the client’s topic. 4. Body language/facial expression. Be yourself: authenticity is essential to building trust.  The 3 V’s + B reduce interviewer talk time and provide clients with an opportunity to tell detailed stories. 3 V’s + B Increase awareness of clients’ attending patterns. Note clients’ patterns of eye contact, changing vocal tone, body language, and topics to which your clients attend and those they avoid. Note individual and cultural differences in attending. Attending behavior and listening are essential for human communication, but we need to be prepared for and expect individual and cultural differences.  3 V’s + B Avoid trying to solve Clients developed Listen before you leap! clients’ difficulties too their concerns over soon. time. It is critical that you Use the 3 V’s + B to slow down, relax, and understand clients’ attend to clients’ concerns and build stories. rapport. Visual/Eye Contact Observe cultural differences in appropriate amounts of eye contact. Maintain and break eye contact as needed for specific results. Observe clients’ pupils for dilation. Use specific body language to achieve desired results. Vocal Qualities: Tone and Speech Rate O Changes in pitch and volume, speech breaks and hesitations, and speech rate can convey your emotional reactions to the client. O Verbal underlining: the key words a person underlines by means of volume and emphasis. O Expect some significant things to be said more softly. O Expect a lower volume when a client is talking about difficult issues. O Match vocal tone to client’s in these cases.  What are your reactions to the following accents: Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Penang, Kedah, Perlis. Accents Avoid stereotyping people with accents different from yours. Body Language: Attentive and Authentic Body language patterns differ according to culture. Maintain culturally appropriate distance. Note client’s movements in relation to you. Note your own body language patterns in the session. Maintain authenticity in the client relationship. Verbals: Following the Client or Changing the Topic Verbal tracking is staying with your client’s topic to encourage full elaboration of the narrative. Selective Attention Selective attention is central to interviewing. Clients will talk about what interviewers are willing to hear. Observe the selective attention patterns of both you and your clients. What do your clients focus on? What topics do they seem to avoid? Ask yourself the same questions.. The Value of Redirecting Attention O There are times when it is inappropriate to attend to client statements. O For example, a client may talk insistently about the same topic over and over again. O Through failure to maintain eye contact, subtle shifts in posture and vocal tone, and deliberate (careful) jumps to more positive topics, you can facilitate the interview process. O Redirect the conversation to focus on positive assets. The Usefulness of Silence O Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is to support your client silently. O Search for a natural break in the client’s speech and attend appropriately. O The auditory cortex in the brain remains active when you are attending to silence. Empathy: Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Empathy Anticipated Result Experiencing the client’s world O Clients will feel understood and be and story as if you were that client; understanding his or her more engaged in exploring their key issues and expressing them issues. accurately, without adding your own thoughts, feelings, or O Empathy is best assessed by a meanings. client’s reaction to a statement and This requires attending and observation skills plus using the his or her ability to continue the important key words of the client discussion in more depth and, while distilling and shortening the main ideas. eventually, with better self- understanding. Example: Client: (speaks slowly, seems to be sad and depressed) I’m so fouled up right now. The first year went well and I passed all my courses. But this semester, I am really having trouble with Interviewing class. It’s hard to get around the tutorial class in my wheelchair and I still don’t have a textbook yet. (An angry spark appears in her eyes and she clenches her fist). By the time I go to the bookstore, they were all gone. It takes a long time to get to class because the elevator is on the wrong side of the building for me. (Looks down at the floor) Almost as bad, my car broke down and I missed two days of classes because I couldn’t get there. (The sad look returns to her eyes) In high school. I had a lots of friend, but somehow I just don’t fit it here. It seems that I just sit and study. Some days it doesn’t seem worth the effort. There are obviously several different directions in which the interview could go. You can’t talk about everything at once. List those several directions. To which one(s) would you selectively attend? Example Client: I’m confused. I can’t decide between a major in Child & Family Psychology, Industrial & Organizational Psychology , or Youth & Community Psychology. Interviewer: (non-attending) Tell me about your hobbies. What do you like to do? Or what are your grades? Interviewer: (attending) Tell me more or You feel confused? or Could you tell me a little about how each subject interest you? or Opportunities in Psychology are promising now, could you explore that field a bit more? or How would you like to go about making your decision? Example interview Example 1 Mizz : The next thing on my questionnaire is your job history. Tell me a little bit about it, will you? Example 2 Sher: Dasy, so far. I’ve heard that you are interested in Psychologist as a career. You’ve liked your psychology courses and you find friends come to you to talk about their problems. I’d like to review a form with you that may help us plan together. The next thing on this form is something about your education background. Could you tell me a little bit about the courses you’ve had in the past? Would that be OK?  Cognitive learning through reading and study does not mean one has the skills and is really able to listen to clients empathically. Effective listening takes time, commitment, and intentional and deliberate practice. Recognize and enhance your natural talents. Conclusion Intentional practice is the magic! ALWAYS USE ATTENDING WITH INDIVIDUAL AND CULTURAL SENSITIVITY.  Wisdom is the "The most reward you get important thing in for a lifetime of communication is listening when hearing what isn't you'd have said" --Peter preferred to talk." Drucker --Doug Larson Thank You "Most people do not listen with the "The art of intent to conversation lies understand; they in listening." -- listen with the Malcom Forbes intent to reply." -- Stephen R. Covey