Ch. 10 - Interviewing Flashcards
1
Q
The Persuasive Interview
A
- persuasive interview’s essential purpose is to influence how parties think, feeling and/or act.
- it’s a mutual interaction in which both parties must play active and critical roles bc persuasion is done with not to another. you take part in persuasive interviews every day as a customer or salesperson, recruit or recruiter, child or parent.
- the pervasiveness or persuasion in our daily lives leads Roderick Hart to write that one must only breathe to need to know something about persuasion.
2
Q
The Ethics of Persuasion
A
- ethics and persuasion are interrelated. more than 2000 yrs ago the greek theories Isocrates wrote that it is not enough to learn the mere techniques of persuasion; we must also be aware of the moral responsibilities when attempting to alter or reinforce the beliefs or behavior of others.
- his concerns about the state of ethics in ancient Greece are reflected in our twenty-first century society.
- fewer than 20% of respondents see practitioners such as lawyers, business execs, labor union leaders, stockbrokers, etc. as high or very high in ethics.
- lead David Callahan to write a book called the cheating culture: why most americans are doing wrote to get ahead.
- since the persuasive interview is a mutual activity, both parties share ethical imperatives.
- as receivers and senders of persuasion, we have the responsibility to uphold appropriate ethical standards of persuasion. in your role as a communicator and recipient of persuasive messages, ask yourself this: what ethical standards should guide my conduct in this particular case? what should i expect of others?
3
Q
The Ethics of Persuasion:
What is Ethical?
A
- when do we cross ethical boundaries?
- ethical issues focus on value judgments concerning degrees of right and wrong, virtue and vice, and ethical obligations in human conduct. notice the word degrees. it’s easy to agree that a person is trying to sell a fraudulent investment scheme or home repair rip-off, particularly to a vulnerable or desperate person, is unethical. other situations are not as easy. for ex., you may criticize a politician or insurance sales rep for using extreme fear appeals and then use these same appeals to persuade a friend to stop smoking or a child not to get into a car with a stranger.
- what about a “stealth strategy” in which an undercover person pretends to be a tourist, fellow student, or concerned citizen rather than an skilled persuader?
- even single, carefully selected words may tip the balance: depression for recession, socialist for government-funded institution, terrorism for all violent acts, excuse for explanation, propaganda for information
- every strategy and tactic discussion may be misused and identified as manipulative
4
Q
The Ethics of Persuasion:
Fundamental Ethical Guidelines
A
- although we don’t wish to force a given system of values or ethical code upon the reader, we do argue that he/she has a responsibility to form one. we believe that it’s desirable both for the immediate practical reasons of self-interest and for more altruistic reasons that a person accept responsibility for what he/she does in persuasion both as receive and as a source.
- the age-old golden rule remains relevant for your ethical conduct. do unto others are you would have them do unto you.
- while it is hard to develop a code of ethics applicable to ass persuasive situation and agreeable to all, ethical communication should be fair, honest, and designed not to hurt people.
- Be Honest: most of us are basically honest and seldom tell outright lies, but we might fib a bit about missing a class or being late for work, exaggerate a little to gain approval or sympathy, or fudge on a desire or motive. if we are truly honest, we will not attempt to conceal or true motives, compromise our ideas and idea to gain an advantage, fail to divulge disbelief in what we advocate, or camouflage unwillingness to fulfill commitments and promises. how will if eel about myself after this communicate act? could i justify by act publicly if I am called on to do so? - ask yourself these two qs to assess honesty
- Be Fair: if you follow the golden rule, fairness won’t be an issue. ask yourself qs that address fairness. how vulnerable is the other party bc of status differences, how serious are the possible consequences, how adequate and fair are my arguments, etc. sometimes emotional and strong disagreements are common is persuasive interviews, but unfair tactics may result in irreparable harm to this and future interactions with this party.
5
Q
The Ethics of Persuasion:
Fundamental Ethical Guidelines
continued
A
- Be Skeptical: have a healthy trust of others, but don’t be gullible. every con artist depends on your assistance and gullibility. balance your trust with skepticism, don’t let greed or getting something for nothing make you a willing accomplice. be wary of simplistic assertions, claims, promises, and solutions that guarantee quick fixes and really good deals. these people succeed bc their clients ask few questions, did no research, and refuse to listen to those who preached caution.
- Be Thoughtful and Deliberate in Judgement: sometimes mere skepticism is not enough. the “buyer beware” notion of ethics, alive and well in Ponzi schemes epitomized by Madoff’s ventures, places the burden of proof on you, the persuadee. both parties in the persuasive interview should ask critical qs and demand answers backed by solid evidence. listen, think, question, synthesize, and research and then decide whether or not to accept a person, idea or proposal. we are typically more interested in appearance than substance. if we like the other party who looks like us, acts like us, sounds like us, talks like us and appears to have the right connections, we assume proposals are logical and acceptable.
- Be Open-Minded: this does not mean that you don’t have strong beliefs, attitudes, and values or commitments, it does mean that you do not automatically assume that persuaders of certain professions, political parties, religions, races, genders, ages, etc. are untrustworthy or trustworthy, competent/incompetent, caring/uncaring, etc. this amounts to persuader profiling. don’t automatically reject or accept proposals that challenge the ways things have always been done or that appear to be new. be open to dissent and opinions of others.
- Be Responsive: provide verbal and NV feedback to other party so they can understand your needs, limitations, and perceptions of what is taking place and being agreed to. reveal what you are thinking and how you are reacting. be actively invovled in the interview from opening through close. persuasion can be seen as a transaction in which both persuaders and persuadee bear mutual responsibility to participate actively in the process.
- remember that appearance often outweighs substances and to always be open to opposing views.
- being fair is the basis to ethical persuasion.
6
Q
Part 1: The Interviewer in the Persuasive Interview:
Selecting Interviewees
A
- in many persuasive situations, the interviewee is predetermined: parent, instructor, employer, member of a team, acquaintance, etc. this is the only person you must persuade bc this person along can grant a wish, solve a problem complete a task, or meet a financial need.
- in other situations you must select from among potential interviewees or locate interviewees in your university, community, city, state, or country. professional persuaders call this prospecting. start with your own network of ppl with whom you have had previous connections and have established a relationship. may be family, friends, alumni members, clients, associates, church members, customers, contributors and supporters.
- contact sources in your network who are not potential interviewees but may help you locate good prospects.
- prospecting is a number game bc you may need to locate dozens or hundreds of interviewees, but try to avoid cold calls in which you contact a list of strangers with no connection to you or one of your sources.
- all persuaders face rejection and you must learn to deal with it; see rejection as necessary evil in the process and be ready to move on from it. a quick no is often better than uncertainty or delaying tactics that result in a much later no, after you’ve invested time and money into a proposal.
- making an appointment doesn’t mean the prospective interviewee will keep the appointment or be a good prospect. some ppl find it easier to agree to an appointment rather than saying they aren’t interested.
7
Q
Part 1: The Interviewer in the Persuasive Interview:
Selecting the Interviewees
A
- next step is to purge your list of prospects; quality is better than quantity. possibility of successful interview increases if your interviewee meets five criteria
1. your proposal creates or addresses a need, desire or motive for this interviewee. if there’s no need or desire, there will be no persuasion
2. your proposal and you are consistent with the interviewee’s values, beliefs and attitudes. lack of compatibility, trust or respect may results in failure to persuade.
3. your proposal is feasible, practical or affordable for the interviewee. possibility is critical to persuade.
4. your proposals advantages outweigh the disadvantages for interviewee. must acknowledge and neutralize stated and unstated objections.
5. there is no better course of action for interviewee. your proposal should be the best among choices. - once you’ve trimmed your list of interviewees, start preparing for the interview by analyzing each prospect.
8
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Personal Characteristics
A
- take into consideration age, gender, race, size, health, disabilities, physical fitness, and intelligence. any one or a combination of these characteristics may affect what a person is able to do or wants to do.
- avoid all too frequent societal stereotypes such as all elderly ppl are slow and gullible, blonds are dumb, hispanics are illegal aliens, women are technically challenged, and those with poor health lead unhealthy lives.
- each one of us is a composite of personal characteristics that is impossible to stereotype. research does indicate that a level of intelligence makes interviewees less receptive to persuasion.
- highly intelligent interviewees are more influence by evidence and logical arguments and tend to be highly critical. both factors make them more difficult to persuade.
9
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Educational, Social and Economic Backgrounds
A
- level of education attainment may affect interviewees.
- college graduates tend to be more invovled in public affairs, the sciences, cultural activities, have good jobs with good incomes and to hold fewer stereotypes and prejudices, and also to be more critical thinkers, flexible and independent.
- socioeconomic background includes the interviewee’s memberships and are important bc our attitudes are strongly influence by the groups we belong to. the more committed an interviewee is the various groups the less likely you are to persuade this person with an effort that appears to conflict with group norms
- one of two major determinants of behavior intention os the normative influence on an individuals and its importance to the individual. normative influence is a persons belief that important individuals or groups think it is advisable to perform or not perform certain behaviors. know the persons occupation, income, avocations and hobbies, superior/subordinate relationships, marital status, geographical background, dependents, work experience, their ways of viewing people, places, things, events and issues
- memberships may be powerful outside forces.
10
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Culture
A
- cultural differences may affect interview. western cultures tend to be “me” centered and stress the importance of individual accomplishments, leadership and accumulation of awards and things.
- Asia and similar countries are more “we” centered and stress the importance of the group or team and see those who stress self and claim individual achievement as distasteful and offensive.
- some cultures consider bribery a normal part of business, others feel that it’s necessary to give gifts are part of the process.
- bargaining is a essential part of persuasion in many cultures, often preceded by a relationship-building period over dinner or tea.
- in the US ‘time is money’ so americans expect others to be one time. in great Britain it is considered correct to be 5-15 mins late, and in Italy a person may arrive 2 hrs late and not understand why you are upset.
11
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Values/Beliefs/Attitudes
A
- each culture has a set of generally accepted values - fundamental beliefs about ideal states of existence and modes of behavior that motivate ppl to think, feel or act in particular ways. values, often referred to as “hot buttons” by collect recruiters, sales reps, and politicians, are the foundations of beliefs and attitudes.
- the following scheme of values includes those central to the American value system, the hot buttons that motivate interviewees to think, feel or act in a certain way at certain times. determine which ones are most relevant to your interviewee
- Survival Values: peace and tranquility, personal attractiveness, preservation of health, safety and security
- Social Values: affection and popularity, cleanliness, conformity and imitation, generosity, patriotism and loyalty, sociality and belonging.
- Success Values: accumulation and ownership, ambition, competition, happiness, material comfort, pride, prestige and social recognition, sense of accomplishment.
- Independence Values: equity and value of the individual, freedom from authority, freedom from restraint, power and authority
- Progress Values: change and advancement, education and knowledge, efficiency and practicality, quantification, science and secular rationality.
12
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Values/Beliefs/Attitudes
continued
A
- determine which values are most relevant to this interviewee in this situation and with this issue.
- political, economic, social, historical and religious beliefs emanate from values. determine which of those beliefs relate to a topic and proposal. if equity and value of the individual are important values, an interviewee is likely to support equal rights and opportunities for women and minorities. if education is important the person is likely to support increased school funding, give to college fundraising campaigns, etc.
- attitudes are relatively enduring combinations of beliefs that predispose ppl to respond in a particular way to ppl, orgs, places, ideas, and issues. if you’re a conservative, you are more likely to react predictably to thinks you consider to be liberal.
- attitudes come from beliefs that come from cherished values. determine the interviewee’s probable attitude toward the need or desire you will develop and the proposal you will make.
- consider a party’s probable attitudes along an imaginary scale from 1-9 with 1-3 being strongly positive, 4-6 being neutral, and 7-9 being strongly negative.
- if it’s position 1 or 2, little political effort may be require. if it’s on 8 or 9 than persuasion may be impossible beyond a small shift in feeling or thinking. if it’s a 4-6 you should be able to alter ways of thinking, feeling or acting with good persuasive effort. this may not be the case if an interviewee is strongly committed to remaining neutral, undecided or non-committed.
13
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Values/Beliefs/Attitudes
continued
A
- persuasion theorists from Aristotle in ancient Greece to present day have claimed that the interviewee’s attitude toward the interview (ethos, credibility, image) is the most important determinant of success. you must assess the interviewees attitude toward you, your profession, and the org you represent. several dimensions determine your credibility including trustworthy/safe, competent/expert, goodwill, composure, and dynamic/energetic
- think of your previous experiences with this person. if an interviewee doesn’t like you, distrusts our org and/or sees your profession as dishonest, you must alter these attitudes during the interview.
- your appearance, attainments, personality, manner, composure, etc are important for maintaining high credibility.
- ppl tend to react more favorable to high credible interviewers who are similar to them in important ways and appear to share their values, beliefs, and attitudes.
- while they want interviewers to be similar to them they also expect them to be wiser, brave and more knowledgable, more experiences and more insightful.
14
Q
Analyzing the Interviewee:
Emotions
A
- emotions, sometimes called feelings and passion, significantly influence how ppl think, feel and act.
- along with values, emotions are “hot buttons” you need to discover and push if you hope to persuade.
- some emotions are necessary for survival including hate, fear, anger, love and sexual attraction. others are necessary for social involvement such as pride, shame, guild, sympathy, pity, humor, joy and sadness. you must be aware of the other party’s mood, why the party feels that way and how it is likely to affect the interview.
- with mood of the interviewee in mind along with topic, situation, and the purpose, determine which emotions you must appeal to in this interview.
- what then is the relationship btwn values, beliefs, attitudes and emotions in persuasive interviews?
- the process begins with values (our fundamental beliefs ab existence and behavior), which lead to specific beliefs (judgements ab what is probably true or believable), which form attitudes (organizations of relevant beliefs that predispose us to respond in particular ways), which may result in judgement or action towards a person, place, thing, idea, proposal and act.
- specific values and emotional appeals serve as triggering devices for judgement and actions. altering or reinforcing and interviewee’s thinking, feeling or acting is a complex process.
15
Q
Analyzing the Situation:
Atmosphere
A
- study carefully the atmosphere in which the interview will take place. know why the interview is occurring at this time: a regularly scheduled event, an emergency and moment of opportunity, and major event, a routine interaction, etc.
- will the climate be hostile, friendly, ambivalent, or apathetic?
- the “why” of the interview may vary significantly btwn parties
16
Q
Analyzing the Situation:
Timing
A
- timing may be critical. when is an ideal time to conduct an interview, when would it be too early or too late, what events have preceded this interview such as visits from competitors, etc.
- what events will take place following the interview, such as a competing fund-raiser, annual sale, or budget meeting?
- certain times of the year are great for some interviewers while terrible for others.
- timing may be everything
17
Q
Analyzing the Situation:
Physical Setting
A
- provide for privacy and control interruptions, especially telephone calls. make an appointment if it’s hard to guess how much time an interview will take.
- will you be the host of the interview/is it on your turf or in your office, are you a guest in which the interview is taking place on the interviewee’s turf, or is it occurring on neutral ground such as a conference room, hotel, etc.
- if you are trying to recruit a student for your university, you might prefer to get the interviewee on campus during a beautiful fall day, etc.
- a good physical setting can go a long way
18
Q
Analyzing the Situation:
Outside Forces
A
- outside influences may wage counter persuasive efforts
- organizational or professional policies may prescribe what you can and cannot do in a sales interview.
- you may be trying to convince a friend to attend your college while another college is recruiting this person with a full-ride scholarship, mom and dad want them to attend the same college they went to, etc.
- awareness of outside influences may determine how you open an interview, select appeals and evidence, develop proposals and address counterpersuasion
19
Q
Researching the Issue:
A
- be the best informed and most authoritative person in each interview
- investigate all aspects of a topic, including events that may have contributed to the problem, reasons for and against change, evidence on all sides of an issue, and possible solutions.
- search for solid up-to-date info
- the interviewee can demand support, challenge assumptions, generalizations or claims and ask for documentations of a source.
- impress parties by having answers to qs and being knowledgable. try to determine what the interviewee knows about an issue and attitudes held by the interviewee towards the issue and possible solutions.
- don’t overlook any potentially valuable sources of info such as the internet, emails, interviews, letters, pamphlets, surveys, unpublished studies, reports, newspapers, journals, gov. documents.
- use your own experience as research, know the sources available to interviewee.
20
Q
Researching the Issue: Types of Evidence
A
- gather and use a variety of evidence to support your need and proposal. collect examples, both factual and hypothetical to illustrate your points.
- ppl like good stories that make problems real. gather stats, collect statements from knowledgable authorities, look for comparisons and contrasts btwn situations, proposals, products and services.
- locate clear and supportable definitions for key terms and concepts.
- distinguish opinion from fact
- the effect of a well supported persuasive interview last longer than a poorly supported one.
21
Q
Planning the Interview:
Determine Your Purpose
A
- if you know the interviewee will be a hard sell bc of values, beliefs, and attitudes, then your purpose may be merely to influence thinking or feeling in a minor way. getting an interviewee to think about an action or to admit there is a problem may be a major success for a first interview. later you might move on to more significant change or support/action.
- in other situations you may move quickly through need and desire to solutions with a good chance of success.
- set a realistic goal for the interview. don’t assume that after one interview that person is not interested or will not change. some say it may take five contacts before a sale is made so be patient
22
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Main Points
A
- don’t make the need too complicated. know the strength of each point and introduce it strategically
- select reasons to establish need or desire. don’t rely on a single reason bc the interviewee may see little urgency in a issue that is so simple or unidimensional or find it easy to reject or attack one point. more points also enhance the effectiveness of persuasion over time.
- six or eight points may make an interview too long and superficial as you rush through them all and may overload interview with info leading them to be confused or bored.
- after selecting 3-4 points, determine the strength of each for the situation and this will help determine the order in which you present the points.
- if there is a chance of running out of time or being rushed, present the strongest point first.
23
Q
Planning the Interview:
Develop Main Points
A
- develop each point into what the interviewee will see as valid and acceptable logic. carefully craft and blend the logical and psychological.
- you can argue from accepted belief, assumption or proposition which invovled three explicitly stated or implied assertions
- all students living in apartments should have renters insurance, you live in an apartment, point is you should have renters insurance.
- you need not state all three parts of this pattern if the interviewee is likely to provide the mission assertion or conclusion. regardless, your argument rests of the first assertion that is a critical belief, assumption or proposition. you can leave second or third assertion unstated.
- arguing from condition is based on the assertion that if something does or does not happen, something else will or will not happen.
- if you continue to drink and drive you are going to lose your license.
- you’re going to continue drinking and driving
- you’re going to lose your license.
- weigh conditions carefully and be able to support them effectively. as with arguing from accepted belief, you may invite the interviewee to fill in a missing part or parts.
24
Q
Planning the Interview:
Develop Main Points
continued
A
- arguing from two choices is based on the assertion that there are only two possible proposals or course of action. you delete one by establishing that it will not work or resolve a problem, and conclude the obvious.
- you can take the p lane or drive to your interview in Philadelphia
- driving the 700 miles to Philadelphia will require you to miss the final exam in Psychology 495
- point: you should fly to Philadelphia
- the argument rests on being able to limit the choices and convincing the interviewee that one is unacceptable so yours is the only remaining.
- arguing from example leads to a generalization about a while class of people, places, things, or ideas from a sample of this class. for instance, an interviewer attempting to persuade a university administrator of the dangers of binge drinking on campus might use this argument:
- sample: in a recent survey of college students it was discovered that 69% of 500 respondents admitted to binge drinking
- point: the majority of students take part in binge drinking.
- your evidence must warrant your conclusion
- the quality of the sample, as in a survey interview, is critical in argument from example.
- arguing from cause-effect is related to example bc interviewers often use a sample as proof of a causal relationship. unlike the argument from example that leads to a generalization, this argument attempts to establish was caused a specific effect. for ex.:
- in a study of 100 auto accidents, police officers said that nearly a third occurred while drivers were texting, about the same as when drivers had been drinking
- point: texting while driving causes as many accidents as drinking alcohol and driving
- you must convince the other party that the evidence leads to the only or major cause of effect.
25
Q
Planning the Interview:
Develop Main Points
continued
A
- arguing from facts reaches a point that explains best a body of facts. this his how investigators argue when attempting to explain a phenomenon
- while investigating the storm damage caused in a two county area on 6/5, we noted that the storm had moved in a nearly straight line. in open areas, there was no evidence of a twisting motion in grass and weeds. tree s and small buildings were knocked down but not twisted. no one hear the tell-tale freight train sound of a tornado
- point: it’s obvious that the storm damage was the result of straight line winds and not a tornado.
- unlike argument from example, this interviewer in this case is arguing from a variety of facts, not a sample of a class of things.
- arguing from analogy occurs when you point out two things (people, places. objects, proposals, ideas) have important characteristics in common and draw a conclusion based on these similarities. for example, a coach might argue like this:
- points of comparison: like north side, west lake high has a veteran quarter back who is an excellent runner as well as a passer. their line is anchored by four seniors who are both large and fast. their pass defenders have made six interceptions this year. and they have a junior kicker who has made fields goals from as far as 46 yards
- point: West Lake High will be hard to beat, just like north side.
- the number of significant similarities are critical in developing and selling this argument.
26
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Strategies
A
- once you have chosen main points and persuasive patterns, select psychological strategies to make them persuasive. a number of theories explain how you might bring about changes in thinking, feeling, and acting.
- these theories explain complex human activities through careful observation of what happens in the real world and may serve as persuasive strategies.
27
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Strategies - Identification Theory
A
- Kenneth Burke, arguably the leading rhetorical theorist of the 21st century claims that you persuade by identifying with the interviewee.
- strive to establish consubstantiality (a substantial similarity) with the interviewee.
- the overlapping circles representing the interview parties in our model in ch. 2 are based on Burke’s notion that to communicate or persuade, you must talk the other party’s language “with speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, and ultimately identifying” your ways with theirs.
- their are several ways to identify with a person and establish common ground:
- Associating with groups to which you both belong, shared cultural heritage or regional identification, programs you both support, etc.
- Disassociating from groups, cultures, regions or programs the interviewee opposed or is distant from.
- Develop appearance and visual symbols that establish identification such as dress, hairstyle, makeup, jewelry, political buttons, religious symbols, etc. appearances are important in perceiving common ground.
- Sharing language such as jargon, slang, colloquialisms, and in-group words and phrases.
- Employing content and values important to the interviewee.
- strive for real identification, not fabrication to initiate the change you desire.
28
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Strategies - Balance or Consistency Theory
A
- according this this theory, human beings strive for a harmonious existence with self (values, beliefs, and attitudes) and experience psychological discomfort (dissonance) when aspects of existence seem inconsistent or unbalanced.
- you may experience this source-proposition conflict when you like persons but detest their positions or issues or dislike persons but favor their products or services.
- you experience attitude-attitude conflict when you oppose government involvement in your life but want the government to outlaw hate speech and require prayer in public schools.
- you experience perception-perception conflict when you see Mexico as beautiful but dangerous place to vacation.
- you experience behavior-attitude conflict when you believe strongly in law and order but use a fake ID to get into bars.
- not all interviewees are happy with harmony
- an interviewer may create or resolve dissonance.
- you may create psychological discomfort (dissonance) by attacking a source or pointing out attitude, perception or behavioral conflicts. then you show how the interviewee can bring these inconsistencies into balance by providing changes in sources, attitudes, perceptions and behaviors.
- if you detect that an interviewee is experiencing psychological discomfort, you may bring about balance or consistency by helping the interviewee see no inconsistency, perceive the inconsistency as insignificant, or tolerate inconsistency.
29
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Strategies - Inoculation Theory
A
- according to this theory, it is more effective to prevent undesired persuasive effects from occurring than using damage control afterwards.
- for ex., a few years ago one of the authors receive a phone call from the state police warning him of solicitors who were claiming to be representatives of state police sponsored charity for children and relating what solicitors were telling contributors
- the called hoped the preemptive call would prevent the author from being victimized and maintain the credibility of legitimate police charities
- in this strategy, you forewarn the interviewee, perhaps by exposing the interviewee to small doses of a potential persuader’s language, arguments and evidence so the interviewee can resist the effort.
- or you might provide arguments and evidence the interviewee may use to mount and effective counter-effort if confronted by an interviewer against whom he or she is being immunized.
- an inoculation strategy immunizes an interviewee from future persuasions
30
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Strategies - Induce Compliance Strategy
A
- according to this theory, you may change an interviewer’s way of thinking, feelings or acting by inducing her or hum to engage in activities counter to values, beliefs or attitudes.
- participation in counter-activities may bring about self-persuasion
- apply enough pressure so an interviewee will comply without feeling there is no choice. feeling coerced may prevent change.
- variety of ways to induce compliance. you might induce an interviewee to espouse a belief or counter-attitude to understand or appreciate the other side of an issue, such as a liberal position of sex education or a conservative position on health care reform.
- you might induce an interviewee to take part in an unaccustomed or unattractive activity, such as going to a religious service or helping at a homeless shelter
- you might induce an interviewee to play an opposite role, such as a superior instead of subordinate, teacher instead of student, parent instead of child
- you might induce a party to act to receive a reward or avoid a punishment, such as tickets to a concert or speeding ticket.
- there are many ways to trigger self-persuasion
31
Q
Planning the Interview:
Select Strategies - Psychological Reactance Theory
A
- according to this theory, ppl react negatively when someone threatens to restrict a behavior they want to engage in. they may value the restricted behavior more and want to engage in it more frequently
- people may devalue alternatives bc they feel they are truck with them and may resent the restricting agent.
- organizations produce limited editions of books, stamps, coins and cars to enhance demand for them.
- tickets to NCAA basketball final four are of great value bc they are scarce.
- interviewees may be less in favor of giving to the college development fund or joining their athletic booster clubs if they feel they are being forced.
- whenever possible, avoid real or perceived pressure on the other party to think, feel or act differently
- make your proposal attractive, make scarcity or a deadline known without appearing to threaten, develop a serious need without excessive appeals to fear and offer choices
- restricting behavior may lead to persuasion or resentment
32
Q
Conducting the Interview:
Opening
A
- be flexible, adaptable and cautious about assumptions. you are conducting an interview, not giving a speech. plan how you will involve the interviewee throughout the interview.
- your opening must gain attention and interest, establish rapport and motivate interviewee to take part. the major advantage of the interview over public or mass persuasion is the chance to tailor your message to a single party.
- adapt the opening to each interviewee and setting. don’t rely on a standard/traditional formula
- when insufficient info is unavailable or you don’t have the chance to study interviewee ahead of time, use the first few mins of the interview to discover how you can best adapt to this person.
- take note of dress, appearance, manner. ask a few q’s designed to discover background, interests, and attitudes critical to this interview. listen to what the interviewee “says” verbally and nonverbally. if the party consists of more than one person, detect who is the leader or spokesperson
- the majority of persuasive interactions fail in the first few seconds, during the attention step in the opening, so choose your language and NV actions carefully. think of openings in sales calls made to your home and how you reacted. persuaders trying to convince you to give to a charity are often trained to recite a prescribed opening regardless of your age, gender, income, background or level of interest. you may dislike the charity; it makes no difference to the persuader.
little wonder that few of these “cold” calls succeed. - begin with a warm greeting and use the interviewee’s name if you have it. if the person is a stranger, do not make your greeting sound like a question but trying to guess their name. this suggests that you are unsure of the persons name or identity, unsure of yourself and not prepared.
