Interview Assignment

1. Interview Assignment Dr. Janice R. Walker Department of Writing and Linguistics Georgia Southern University jwalker@GeorgiaSouthern.edu

2. Assignment for Tuesday, 1/27/04: As a group, discuss the kinds of communication you will most likely need to do in your field.  Can you categorize them?  Conduct interviews with professionals in your field of study (or with professors in the field) about the types of written communication you will need to be familiar with. Ask them about the kinds of writing they engage in as part of their jobs. Do they write memos? letters? reports? proposals? Do they merely fill in forms? Do they need to jot down handwritten instructions for employees? Whatever kinds of writing they may routinely engage in, ask for samples and bring them to class with you. If they claim NOT to do any writing as part of their job, discuss how they communicate information with their customers, peers, subordinates, or supervisors, financial institutions (e.g., bank loans), government agencies, etc., and we will discuss the communicative processes they do use. Prepare a brief presentation to the class of your findings. [Note: You may choose to interview a professor in your field instead if you cannot contact a professional in your field; however, do not ask the professor about the work s/he does as a professor -- unless you plan to be a professor.  Instead, ask him/her about the kinds of writing that professionals in your field will do.]  See Tips for Effective Presentations.

3. Analyze your purpose Why am I asking you to conduct this interview? What information do I hope you will discover? How can you formulate interview questions that will help you achieve your purpose?

4. Analyze Your Audience How does the information you have obtained apply to the needs of your audience? What does your audience already know about the topic? What do they need to know? How can you make it clear to your audience why they should care about the information you present?

5. Review Your Information Do you perceive a pattern or overall theme? Are there “holes” in the information that you need to fill? Perhaps you need to call or visit the person you interviewed and ask follow-up questions. If you were unable to get sample documents, can you go online and find samples?

6. Organize and Outline Your Presentation Remember the rule for oral presentations: tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told them! Plan what you’re going to say—and time yourself (presentations should be brief – no more than about 5 minutes. KISS your audience! (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Prepare handouts/slides/samples. Practice!!