Course: CMM 128 Interviewing Practices

Assignments

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Persuasive Interview
Goal:  To develop skill in applying theories of persuasion to specific situations.

Objectives:  By the end of this assignment, you should be able to:

1.    Enact an opening to a persuasive interview that qualifies the interviewee (E), motivates the E to participate, establishes the credibility of the interviewer (R), and creates rapport between the E and R.

2.    Close a persuasive interview in a way that maintains rapport, and reinforces the E's decision.

3.    Ask questions and provide information that leads the E to agree to a need.

4.    Ask questions, provide information, and conduct demonstrations that lead the E to agree with the R on the desired solution and understand how to reach that solution.

4.    Use verbal and nonverbal communication to convey professionalism.

5.    Develop solutions that adapt to a variety of different E's.

6.    Answer common objections raised by the E.

7.    Use appropriate verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey commitment, credibility, and enthusiasm.

8. Select a topic that is suitably challenging can be completed in 7-10 minutes, and in which you have some vested interest in the outcome.

Assignment:  As an interviewer, you will have 7-10 minutes to apply principles of persuasion in an interview with another student.  The E will provide at least one objection to your attempts at persuasion and may agree to your appeals at the end, although your grade does not depend on your success at getting the E to do what you want.  However, you should have secondary options if the E is resistant to your primary solutions or if the E is overly willing to do what you want.

The R will decide the topic for the interview although it should be a topic in which the R has something to gain by persuading the E.  An E that is appropriate for the subject will be selected from the audience.  For example, the R may want to persuade the E on which circular saw to buy, whether to donate blood, whether to devote time to volunteering, how much money to save each year, which life insurance policy to buy, or where to go to school after CLC.  The R will research the topic, develop a line of questioning and try to persuade the E to take a particular action such as buy a Black & Decker saw, donate blood today, volunteer, save $1,000 a year through your company, buy Prudential whole life, or go to Northern Illinois University.

R's may use graphs, charts, or other literature in their interview.  Interviews will normally be conducted sitting down but may take place standing up.  R's may assume that the E has initiated the interview, that the R initiated the interview, or that this is a second interview that either one initiated.