Learning goals

We are learning to…

identify different purposes for speaking and explain how the topic and audience would influence the purpose
evaluate the effectiveness of different speaking strategies
analyse oral texts in order to evaluate how effectively they communicate ideas, opinions, themes, or experiences, and suggest possible improvements

Success criteria

I am able to…

recognize appropriate speaking strategies in an interview
discuss and conclude how effective the strategies used in an interview were
compare two interviewers and evaluate the effectiveness of their communication strategies

Minds On

Effective interviews

An interview is a conversation where one person asks questions, and the other provides answers. Explore the video interview of Celeste from Big Top Academy.

Did you think this was an effective interview? Why or why not?

Record your thoughts orally, digitally, in print, or in a method of your choice.

Action

Strategies for interviews

Lucas started a conversation with Celeste in a relaxed and comfortable manner.

The interview consisted of a combination of closed and open-ended questions. The purpose is to learn more about the interviewee and get them to share openly and honestly about their lives.

It is not only questioning that makes a strong interview. It may also be the strategies used by the interviewer as well as those of the interviewee.

Review the interview between Lucas and Celeste. What strategies do you notice Lucas using as he interviews Celeste? Record these strategies in a method of your choice.

Interviewing and communication strategies

What communication strategies are most important when interviewing others?

Press the following tabs to access explore these strategies.

Do we share our message with a tone of warmth, invitation, welcome, anger? (in text it would be demonstrated through punctuation and word choice).

What words are we choosing to use?

Loudness or softness of our spoken words (in text it would be demonstrated in punctuation such as capitals, italics, exclamation marks).

How quickly or slowly do we speak? (in text this would appear through punctuation or lack of punctuation and sentence structure).

Now, review the interview between Lucas and Celeste one more time. This time, pay close attention to the communication strategies mentioned above. In the interactive checklist below, click the box if you can explain what you notice about the communication strategies Lucas is using.

Communication Strategies

Tone Words Volume Pace

Now, let’s explore how Daniel uses communication strategies to interview Nicholas from Big Top Academy. How are his communication strategies similar and different to that of Lucas?

Record your responses in the following fillable and printable document Comparing Communication Strategies Chart. You can also complete this activity in your notebook or use the method of your choice.

Comparing Communication Strategies Chart
Communication strategies	Lucas	Daniel
Tone
Words
Volume
Pace
Which interview do you feel was more effective? Why?

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Comparing Communication Strategies Chart.

Activity

Consolidation

Examining an interview

Find and explore an interview that you believe to be effective. This can be from a podcast, a radio interview, digital platform, a TV interview, or a transcript of an interview.

Based on your learning throughout this activity, what makes this interview effective? If you were conducting this interview, would you change anything? Why or why not?

Record your responses in a method of your choice.

While responding, complete the following checklist:

Did I consider the following:

Who was the intended audience? What was the purpose of the interview? Where was the interview? What did you learn about the interviewee? What communicating behaviours were demonstrated in this interview? Why did that make it effective?

Reflection

As you read the following descriptions, select the one that best describes your current understanding of the learning in this activity. Press the corresponding button once you have made your choice.

I feel…

I have an excellent understanding of the concepts I have a very good understanding of the concepts I have some understanding but need to review some more my understanding of the concepts needs a lot more work

Now, expand on your ideas by recording your thoughts using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

When you review your notes on this learning activity later, reflect on whether you would select a different description based on your further review of the material in this learning activity.