Course: CMM 128 Interviewing Practices

Lecture Notes

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Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication is very important in interviews.  In one study, interviewees with high immediacy nonverbals were invited back for a second interview 82% of the time while none of the interviewees with low immediacy nonverbals received a second interview.

NONVERBAL PROFILE OF SUCCESSFUL JOB INTERVIEWEES

Should Exhibit | Should Not Exhibit
High Immediacy Behaviors such as sustained eye contact, smiling, attentive posture, direct body orientation, illustrator gestures, and close physical proximity (3-6 feet) | Low Immediacy Behaviors such as intermittent eye contact, frowning, inattentive posture, indirect body orientation, adaptor gestures, distant seating
Vocal cues that express appropriate affect (emotion) including a suitable variation in pitch, rate and volume | Monotone voice
No hesitation in responding to interviewer questions.  Fluent answers. | Hesitation in responding to questions.  Use of fillers such as "well," "and," "um," "okay," "you know," and "like."  Use of pet words like "actually," or "basically."  Use of sentence fragments.  Repetition of the interviewer's question before answering.
Substantial volume | Soft voice--inadequate volume
Steady eye contact, sustained eye contact, substantial amount of eye contact | Gaze-avoidance, wandering eyes, limited amount of eye contact, eye contact of short duration.
Affirmative head nodding | Immobile head
Hand gestures communicting high energy levels | Lack of hand gestures, gestures hidden by the table, gestures that are slight (e.g., using only the wrist)
Responsive postoral shifts, leaning forward, open posture. | Rigid posture, leaning way back, closed and defensive posture (e.g., crossed arms).
Firm handshake not too long | Long, limp handshake.  Handshake too forceful.  Wrist turned horizontally to be on top during handshake.  Handshake with fingers only.  No grip to handshake.
Appropriate attire, attire that is similar to the interviewer | Tennis shoes, unironed shirt, skirt too short, heels too high, nose ring, too much jewelry, lack of a tie, missing belt, wearing a ball cap, missing socks, mismatched socks, too much perfume or cologne, excessively dangling earrings.

Table is based on Leathers (1986), p. 225.

Counseling interviewers should exhibit similar behavior with a few differences.
1.  More touching will occur in a counseling interview because of the greater intimacy involved;
2.  Rather than sitting across from each other, a counselor is more likely to sit beside the interviewee;
3.  The appropriate physical proximity is closer in a counseling interview.  It can be within 3 feet.