Page 59 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Comprehensive notes should be dictated or recorded immediately after the person has departed. Waiting
15 minutes or longer, seeing another client or job applicant, or accepting phone calls may cause the
interviewer to forget essential information.

During the interview, one can examine not only what the person says, but also what is not said. Are there
gaps that the interviewer should be trying to fill? Also note nonverbal behaviors, such as tension, inability to
maintain eye contact, hand movements, fidgeting, and facial expressions of discomfort, nervousness, anger, or
lack of understanding. The nonverbal behaviors may be inconsistent with the verbal message, or may add to it.

Although practitioners adjust the pace of the interview to that of the respondent, they are also responsible
for the direction of the interview. When the topics for discussion are inappropriate, the skilled interviewer
brings the conversation back to appropriate ones. The client talking about his wife or children, for example,
must be brought gently back to the nutrition history. A job applicant discussing a recent visit to Spain must be
brought back to relevant topics. People who are especially talkative may ramble frequently, requiring more
direction on the part of the interviewer. In these cases, restating or emphasizing the last thing said that was
pertinent to the interview and asking a related question can be helpful.

Parts of the Interview

Each interview can be divided into three parts: (1) the opening, (2) exploration or body of the interview, and
(3) closing.

The beginning of the interview, or opening, involves a greeting, introductions, and establishing rapport, a
process of creating trust and goodwill between the parties.3 The exploration phase includes the use of
questions to obtain information while maintaining the personal relationship, as the interviewer guides and
directs the interview with responses. In the final phase, the interview is closed and any future contacts are
planned. Table 3-1 summarizes the interview process.

Opening

The opening sets the tone of the interview—friendly or unfriendly, professional or informal, relaxed or tense,
leisurely or rushed—and influences how the interviewee perceives you. Practitioners should greet the client
and state their name and job title, for example, “Good morning. I’m Judy Jones, a registered dietitian
nutritionist.” A smile, eye contact, a handshake or placing a hand on the other’s hand or arm, with a friendly
face and tone of voice are supporting nonverbal behaviors.3

Phases Tasks
Opening Introductions and overview
Establish rapport
Exploration or Body Discuss purpose
Gather information with questions
Explore problems
Explore both thoughts and feelings

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