Discussion: Attending and ObservingHave you ever been talking to someone and it felt like he or she had no idea what you were saying? This person kept looking away frequently, checking his or her ph

Discussion: Attending and Observing

Have you ever been talking to someone and it felt like he or she had no idea what you were saying? This person kept looking away frequently, checking his or her phone or e-mail, or doing some other type of multi-tasking. What if he or she told you he or she is hearing you and said what you told them back verbatim? Would that make you feel any better or was it still frustrating to you that he or she did not seem to be fully attending to you? It might have made you feel like he or she does not care enough to focus only on you. Do you or someone you know tend to jump into a conversation, before a person can even complete a sentence?

The type of actions that were mentioned in the examples in the opening paragraph can make someone feel like the person is just not listening to everything he or she has to say. Some might consider this rude while others might think it acknowledges that the person is listening and wants to be active in the conversation. These type of scenarios are just a few considerations that you should have when interviewing a client, so that you can master your skills in attending and observing.

To Prepare

Review the video vignette in this Week’s Resources.

By Day 3

Post your assessment of at least two good and at least two poor examples of attending and observing an interviewee in the video vignette. Discuss how the poor attending and observing skills can be improved. Provide examples and support your assessment with scholarly resources.