Part A: The Interview
You are going to interview someone who knows you well. For the purposes of this assignment, someone who knows you well can be:

• Someone you have shared experiences with and trust 
• Someone who will be able to answer the interview questions

To help this person best prepare to help you, consider sending them the interview questions in advance so they have time to reflect on their answers. Reassure the interviewee that you will not be sharing their answers to the questions; instead you will reflect on their answers to explore your own understanding of communication. You don’t even need to use their real name in the assignment.

The interview should be conducted as an oral conversation – in person, on the phone, or using virtual meeting software, such as MS Teams. You are free to have the interview in whichever language best suits you and the interviewee. Please ask the following questions and listen to your participant’s response. You should be focused on paying attention to what they have to say, over-and-above responding to how they answer the questions.

• Tell me the story of how our relationship began.
• Tell me about your first impression of me.
• Describe the kind of person I am to you.
• Describe the kind of person you are to me.
• Describe the role that our cultural background plays in our relationship.
• What experiences do you think had the biggest impact on our relationship?
• How do you express emotion toward me?
• How do I express emotion toward you?
• Describe how I listen to you in our relationship.
• Tell me about my approach to conflict.
• Tell me about how we repair our relationship after conflict.
• Where do you think that I have room to grow as your (friend)?

Part B: The Reflection
Write a letter in return to the person that you interviewed. Tell them about what it was like to listen to their responses to the interview schedule. The focus of the letter should be to share with them how the content from this course can be applied to deciphering the communication dynamics within the guided interaction. This is a descriptive not an evaluative reflection.

Your letter should include a paragraph on each of the following communication concepts.

1. Listening and Responding Skills
   • How was the experience of being limited in your capacity to immediately respond?
   • What elements of the listening process were limited in the guided interaction?
   • What elements of the listening process were accentuated in this exercise?
   • What role did culture play on the listening and responding skills in this exercise?
2. Nonverbal Communication
   • Which question did you perceive them to respond to most excitedly?
   • Describe the specific non-verbal cues of your interviewee that exhibited responsiveness.
   • Describe the nonverbal cues you used to encourage your interviewee’s responses.
3. Interpersonal Communication and Self
   • In your perception, how closely did the interviewee’s responses align with how you see yourself?
   • Refer to the Johari Window and describe the extent to which your relationship exists with each of the four domains.
4. Conflict
   • Which moments in the interview did you not agree with?
   • Describe how conflict could be used to develop a better understanding of your relationship, be it resolvable or not.
   • As the interviewer are you in a position of power? Explain the role that power played in this interaction.