How To Write A Reflective Account On Interviewing Skills

“Interviewing is one of the most significant skill deployed in legal advice centre” .

The interview was a one on one (face) scenario whereby I undertook the interviewer role and my tutor assumed the role of the client. Appendix 1 shows an overview of the interview which consists of the client summary form and the interview checklist.

An interview is seen as the primary stage for building client relationships and ensuring the advisor is aware of all the important aspect of the client’s problem. Therefore the interview was a fact finding task, addressing the issue of business partnerships. Skills for Lawyers highlighted the objectives to consider in order for the interview to be successful. This allowed me to ensure my interview was conducted

The interview starts as soon as the interviewer meets the interviewee, so the client will form an impression of the interviewer as soon as they meet. Once I was ready I went out to the waiting area and escorted the client to where the interview will take place I greeted the client with a firm handshake and introduced myself. This was essential as the client would feel relieved to know who he is communicating and building a rapport with. By using the right tone of voice, posture and eye-contact allowed the client to feel welcome, comfortable and relaxed. As a legal adviser I had to keep client matters confidential, so I made myself familiar with the importance of confidentiality. I assured the client by briefly introducing the outset of the client service agreement and asked him if he had any further enquires. It was important for me to build trust with my client as doing so can foster a productive relationship. This was challenging as I had to balance carefully the depth of information with the need to gain the clients

I listened to the client, observed his body language and encouraged the client to continue. “Listening is an undervalued skill which involves a range of techniques to sustain information giving” . In its Practice Note of 1 February 2013, The Law Society recommended that you should “genuinely listen to the client and seek to understand the situation from their point of view. This will lead to client’s feeling more confident and that they are being taken seriously”. Listening was not an issue in the interview. I was passively listening to the client by using silent and other unobtrusive signals to encourage him to continue. For instance I nodded my head, showed acknowledgement (Uh, huh), expressive invitations (“Go on”) and I was responding back with “great” or “perfect”. I was also listening actively by summarising and giving clear precis of the client had just said. This had a positive outcome as it allowed me to check the effectiveness of communication and providing the client with a sense of security by showing them I have listened and understood him. This confirmed the client’s confidence as it expressed my empathy and a reflective feeing with his feelings which showed him I appreciated his emotions. For example “I’m sorry to hear that” or “I can quite see why you feel angry about this”. This technique was useful in building a rapport and gaining a valuable insight