For instance, the only place where a foreman can conduct an interview with a worker may be his office, but this will, in all likelihood, be noisy and, worse, exposed to the curious stares of the other workers, so that what should be a private discussion is seen, if not heard, by everyone passing the office. Similarly, interviews in open-plan offices are almost impossible to conduct in privacy. (When designing such offices, companies should always consider including a room where an undisrupted interview can take place.)
When choosing the venue, you should aim for:
- convenience
- comfort
- privacy
- freedom from disruptions
- freedom from distractions
Colleagues are next in the list of major disrupters. 'I know the door's shut,' they say, popping their head round, 'but this will only take a second.' It seldom does, and, from the interviewee's point of view, the damage has already been done, because two things have happened: one, the interviewee's attention has been diverted; and two, by engaging in conversation with the intruder, you have sent out an unmistakable signal to the interviewee that he or she is of less importance.
In appraisal and disciplinary interviews, where the self-esteem of the interviewee is on the line, this second consequence might in the long run be even more serious than the first. You can always, with a little effort, redirect an interviewee's attention, but it is not so easy to restore confidence.
Ideally, at a good interview, both participants should be so intently focused on the subject under discussion that for the time being they forget the world outside. If the world insists on interrupting, the spell is broken and it may be impossible to restore.
Distractions are often more subtle than disruptions. It is possible to put a stop to phone calls and to deal with intruders quickly and firmly, but various kinds of distractions that occur in modern offices are more difficult to control.
Noise can come from a variety of sources - traffic, office machinery, air conditioning, even lighting - and there is not a great deal you can do about them except, perhaps, move to a quieter room. Certainly, if sound-proofing was inadequate, you must always avoid interviewing in a room overlooking a busy street. The problem is, of course, that on hot days if there is no air conditioning you either suffer the noise with the windows open or suffocate with them closed.
As a general rule, continuous noise, such as the low hum from air conditioning, is less of a nuisance than intermittent noise, and the interviewee, if concentrating on the questions, will soon ignore it. But irregular sounds disrupt the flow of communication as well as distract the interviewee who anticipates a repetition.
Glare. If possible, do not sit interviewees facing a window without a blind. The glare of the sun is very distracting, but most interviewees are too shy to mention it, especially if, as is usually the case, you are senior to them. They will prefer to suffer in silence, but the quality of their concentration also suffers to the detriment of the interview.
Furnishings. Thought should be given to the best environment for interviewing. If you insist on eye-catching objects d'art, you risk turning your interviewees into art critics who will spend the interview wondering more about the hidden meaning of the abstract painting on the wall than the meaning of your questions. On the other hand, a bare, characterless office is a dull environment in which to interview, and, in its own way, intimidating. It is not for nothing that a police interview room is a stark place, devoid of character.
If your office is bursting at the seams with furniture, books, papers and equipment and your desk is so cluttered you cannot find the papers you need for the interview, you are unwittingly signaling to interviewees that you regard them as an unwelcome interlude in your hectic schedule and that you would be glad to get the interview over with as quickly as possible. Your office tells interviewees something about yourself, so endeavor to give them a welcoming message.
To show off your superior status by having a more impressive chair, especially one that permits you to sit higher than your interviewee, reveals a serious case of inferiority that will not escape an interviewee's notice.
The distance between the chairs should be from 1 to 1.5 meters. Closer than that and you will be crowding the interviewee, making it more an interrogation than an interview; further apart than that and the empty space between you becomes a barrier to good communication. Interestingly enough, in certain cultures with different ideas of what constitutes the individual's living space, a meter would seem to imply that the interviewer did not like the interviewee. But for most Europeans and Americans, anything less than a meter is considered too close for comfort.
Chairs should be placed approximately at right angles to each other. This allows you to look at the interviewees when you ask your questions and for them to look at you when they reply, but you are both free to glance away if you wish. If the angle between you is too wide, you cannot see each other properly and you will lose eye contact. Moreover, looking at interviewees through the corners of your eyes will give you the appearance of being shifty and untrustworthy.
Desks are indispensable to some managers. They are essential symbols of their power and authority. Without them they feel exposed. But desks create an imbalance that is contrary to the principles of good communication, like having one chair higher than the other. Desks also prevent the interviewer from having a clear view of interviewees' body movements, which could give useful information about what they are feeling apart from what they are saying. If anything, a small table between your two chairs on which to place cups of coffee and relevant documents is all you really need.
Increasingly for busy executives, interviews occur outside the office, in environments such as cars, trains, planes, restaurants ants and hotel lobbies that, for all practical purposes, are outside the interviewer's control. Or are they? A restaurant, for instance, can be a very convenient place in which to con duct an interview provided certain precautions are taken by the interviewer; all part of the business of preparation.
First, it is important to choose a restaurant that is conducive to quiet conversation, which means avoiding places where the music is louder than the decor, or where the customers come to be seen rather than to eat.
Second, avoid a table close to the entrance, or on the route to the kitchen or toilets. A corner table is probably the best, because there is less chance of being overheard by other diners.
Third, choose the kind of food which requires little attention, so that you can give it all to the interview. Alcohol is, of course, a personal preference, but this, too, should be avoided or taken only in small quantities. Rather than lubricating the dialogue, it is more likely to cloud the brain, yours and the interviewee's.
A final point about interviewing over a meal: if you are of a nervous disposition, and cannot hold a knife and fork or pick up a glass without trembling, you are giving your interviewees an advantage - they know you are probably even more anxious than they are. In this event, it may be a better idea to eat first and interview later.
When you interview is just as important as where. In other words, the time of day can affect the quality of the interview. For instance, conducting an appraisal interview at five o'clock on a Friday afternoon is not going to achieve much, because both you and the interviewee are probably thinking of getting home and of how you intend to spend your weekend. Interviewing immediately before or after lunch is also not such a good idea. Hunger distracts the attention and repletion blunts the intellect.
