Thou Shalt Not Ask Questions: An Approach to Teaching Interviewing Skills

Abstract

This article describes four components of an approach used to teach interviewing skills to first-year graduate students. First, students are told that they should not ask or answer questions during their first two interviews. Second, students evaluate, orally and in writing, their own behavior during the interview. Third, students are provided feedback from several sources regarding their interviewing skills and interpersonal styles. Fourth, effects of the interview on the subjects, and changes in their attitudes toward psychotherapy, are evaluated because subjects are acquired from an introductory psychology research pool.