The artificiality of interviewing is borne out by the fact that two people, meeting possibly for the first time, are required to behave in a calm and civilized manner while one of them asks questions which the other has to answer about subjects that may involve feelings and facts of a private nature.
Interviewees can always refuse to answer, but it is usually in their best interests to forgo that right. So they endure the incompetence, the rudeness, the prying questions, because they reckon that they have more to lose by breaking off than by going on.
Interviewees are travelers about to set off on a journey and they bring with them backpacks or suitcases filled with emotions: anxiety, tension, anger, fear, hope. Not surprisingly, because of something the interviewer has said or done, or because the interviewee is feeling particularly vulnerable or edgy, these emotions may break through to ruin the rapport between the participants and, as a result, the interview comes to an abrupt halt. This interruption need be only a minor one, lasting a minute or two, or it can be a major breakdown that might turn out to be permanent. Either way, the responsibility for handling it rests on the interviewee.
Interviews also break down when the interviewee reverses roles and starts to ask the interviewer questions without being invited to do so.
'I notice in your application form you mention being in business for yourself. Would you like to tell me what happened?' the interviewer asks.
'To the business?' replies the interviewee.
'Yes.'
'Could I ask why you need to know?'
'Well, it is part of your past experience.'
'Yes, but is it really that relevant?'
If the interviewer permits the interviewee to continue in this way, he has lost control and the interview is at an end unless he can redeem the position in one of the ways suggested below. Breakdowns happen to the best as well as the worst inter viewers and they are always time-consuming and wasteful.
Sometimes they occur spontaneously, but more often than not interviewees give warning signals. If you are observant and listen properly, you can anticipate problems before they occur and take the necessary preventative measures to ward off disaster.
The signs to look out for are:
Eye contact: minimal or, in the case of anger, fixed on you in a stare
Body: fidgeting; shallow breathing as though after a fast run
Face: jaws clenching and lips tightening
Voice: very quiet or hoarse
Hands: clenching and unclenching, either on the knees or, more commonly, on the arms of the chair
Fingers: scratching, feeling inside the collar, especially before replying, running through the hair
Legs: crossing and uncrossing repeatedly.
Signals do not come alone but are grouped together and, as the interview progresses; they will become more marked until the breakdown occurs. If, therefore, the interviewee avoids looking at you and at the same time clasps the edge of his chair, if he speaks in a low voice and also seems to have difficulty breathing, you will know that he is ready to explode.
In addition to looking for physical signs, listen to the way interviewees respond to your questions. If they:
- avoid answering certain questions
- avoid dealing with difficult and painful topics
- suddenly change the direction of their reply
- miss out important details in their stories
Here are some suggestions for coping with breakdowns.
- Analyze what has happened that is causing the interviewee to react adversely. You do not have much time. Think quickly, make your diagnosis and take remedial action.
- Keep calm. Never lose your temper or respond to anger with sarcasm or insults. Interviewees usually have more to lose than you do. If they become hostile, remain friendly. If distressed, offer understanding. Do not try to solve their problems or act the psychiatrist. Your tone of voice, your facial expressions, your relaxed posture should also help to reassure and calm the distraught interviewee.
- Be patient. Give interviewees time to recover on their own. Tears or temper will only be momentary and if left alone will pass; but if you intervene too quickly to try to make things better for them, you will only make them worse. The outburst may, in fact, be potentially healthy, because from it may come new ideas and solutions.
- Remain objective. After an outburst, interviewees feel awkward and embarrassed. Do not add to their embarrassment by insisting on knowing why. (Tm really sorry about this. Is it something I said? I wish you'd tell me.') On the other hand, do not condemn. ('I don't know why you're going on like this. How was I supposed to know you'd just lost your mother?')
- Distract the interviewee by changing direction. If you have been asking questions which touch on feelings or on past experience that may be painful, stop and move into another line of questions. As a general rule, facts are less likely to cause problems than feelings, so ask a factual question. If, however, the subject that is causing the problems is important, return to it once the interviewee has calmed down.
- Humor can relieve most situations. Even though the outcome may be of great significance, interviews do not have to be deadly serious. As long as the interviewee knows you are taking him or her seriously, you can keep the mood light. The humorous remark made at the right time can go a long way towards diffusing a crisis. Make jokes against yourself, never the interviewee.
- Depersonalize the discussion. If the problem has arisen because you and your interviewee have become embroiled in a heated exchange in which you are swopping personal insults, get it back onto an impersonal basis as quickly as possible. 'What I think really isn't important. It's your views I want to hear, so shall we move on to the next subject?')
- Postpone the interview. When all else fails, and the interview has irretrievably broken down, you have little alternative but to postpone it. Sometimes, just suggesting it forces the interviewee to draw back from the brink and agree to continue. If this does not work, you will have to defer it to when both of you will be able to tackle it afresh. Less than efficient though this is, it is better to save time and money this way rather than 'flog a dead horse'.
- Be on guard and remember that prevention is better than cure. We not only have to keep the interviewing moving in the direction it has to go to fulfill its purpose, we also have to give our whole attention to what the interviewees are saying, to what they are doing and to what they are thinking.
