Professional Communication

1. Construct a series of questions that you would ask in the opening portion of the following types of interviews:

a. To obtain information from a county official about building permits for a report you have been assigned to deliver to senior management

b. To write a biography of a long-time employee for a special presentation at her retirement party

c. To counsel a subordinate about a problem he or she is having keeping his or her business expenses within budget guidelines

2. How does the nature of directive versus nondirective interviewing seem to match your own communication tendencies? Share your answer with your classmates.

3. With a partner, attempt to conduct an interview using only open or closed questions. How successful were you in gathering appropriate, useful, and detailed information? Was the experience frustrating? Why?

4. Select an important social topic that is worthy of a public opinion poll. Use the quintamensional plan, and devise appropriate interview questions for the poll.

5. Consider the employment interview. Rank-order ten factors that you feel can make or break the opportunity to produce favorable outcomes. Share your list with your classmates.

6. Write five illegally worded interview questions. Then make the necessary corrections to make each question legal.

7. In a small-group discussion, explain how much time you believe should be spent in opening small talk between interviewer and interviewee. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such chitchat? Would this time vary depending on the type of interview under consideration?

8. Select five performance factors that are important topics in an appraisal interview. For each factor, construct sample questions that are appropriate in the following business contexts:

a. A principal appraising a teacher

b. A production supervisor appraising a line worker

c. A baseball manager appraising a player

d. A music coordinator appraising the church organist

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