Storyline 360 Returns

Flammia 1993

So I finally got round to reading this properly and appreciate that the article itself is quite old and things may have moved on.

The article provides a useful structure, and it emphasises the importance of good quality questions and good quality research. It is a little prescriptive but nonetheless very useful and informative. I was struck by a few points.

When conducting a face to face (FtF) interview, the interviewee has little time to consider their response.  As such, the interviewer should be conscious that the initial response may not be as full or as accurate as the interviewee would ultimately like. If accuracy is desired then the interviewer should be prepared to clarify, or even seek later clarification.

As such, an end of interview comment might be "If I need to clarify a point, do you mind if I call you, and if you want to add soemthing please contact me".

A FtF interview allows the interviewer to observe social cues. How these are interpretted or misinterpretted may be crucial. Empathy is therefore important, and empathy leads to or is part of interpersonal skills.

There is little in the article that discusses interpersonal skills. The article I think is very good at structure, but interpersonal skills, rapport, are less frequently discussed. I think it is worth remembering that an interview is at heart (normally) two people discussing matters generally of mutual significance or interest.

Anecdotally, when interviewing previously I always sought an area of common interest to break the ice (this is mentioned only briefly in the article). That area of common interest could be why the Dubs always seem to win everything, it could be the election, Brexit (preferably not the weather) anything to persuade the other person to speak and to relax. 

This can go some way towards alleviating the problems of uncooperative or even hostile interviewees - it starts them talking. 

There seems clearly to be a different approach to be taken in interviewing someone when both are employed by the same company.  The same structure is used, but there is a different dynamic in the relationship and in the background to the interview.

Finally, the article was written in 1993. Methods of communication have moved on and there are plenty of available articles on the benefits and shortcomings of interviews by telephone, email, skype etc.