A successful interview requires both the interviewer and the interviewee to carefully listen to what is being said. As Chapter 7 explains, listening involves hearing, understanding, interpreting, evaluating, remembering, and responding to others’ communication. In addition, during interviews, you can show that you are mentally and physically ready to listen by practicing attending skills. You can demonstrate these skills in several ways.

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First, choose a quiet location with few distractions, such as an office or another room that allows you some privacy during the interview. This is true whether you are conducting the interview in person, on the phone, or via videoconference. Prevent disruptions by silencing your phone and not multitasking during the interview. Second, use nonverbal communication to promote immediacy, or a sense of closeness and involvement between you and your interview partner. For instance, make eye contact, face the other person, smile, use an engaged vocal tone, and occasionally lean toward him or her.

Your verbal responses can also confirm that you are listening. A way to do this is by paraphrasing—restating in your own words what you think the person said. Paraphrasing is most helpful when the interviewee has given a long and detailed answer because it helps you check your understanding of the response. When you paraphrase, you give the other person a chance to correct any misunderstandings and to provide additional details if needed. Here’s an example:

Interviewer: “So you believe the project was a success because the weekly status meetings held everyone accountable; is that right?”

Interviewee: “Yes, the status meetings were one reason, but I also believe it was successful because…”

Interviewees can also use paraphrasing to check their understanding of something the interviewer asked (“So you want to know why some students aren’t happy with their volunteer experience; is that right?”).