Practice Exercise 2: Opening, Listening, and Closing
Exercise Objectives- To practice appropriately opening a meeting.
- To practice appropriately closing a meeting.
Step 1: Preparation
Form groups of three people. Each person will have the opportunity to play the roles of practitioner, client, and peer supervisor. Each meeting will last about 10 minutes.
Client Role
- Think about a problem of your own that you feel comfortable sharing, or a client situation in which you can play the role of the client discussing a problem.
- Review the procedures for opening and closing a meeting. (This is the first meeting with this client. See the evaluation form.)
- Review the skills involved in attending, observing the client, and listening. (See the evaluation form.) You will not give any verbal responses to the client beyond minimal encouragement.
- Look over the evaluation form to review the procedures for opening and closing a meeting. (This is the first meeting with this client.) Review the skills involved in attending, observing the client, and listening.
- Prepare to carefully observe and listen to the client and keep track of the time.
Step 2: The Client Meeting
Client Role
- Tell your story or play the role of a client for 10 minutes.
- Open and close the meeting in an appropriate way for a first client meeting.
- Use the skills involved in attending, observing the client, and listening.
- On the evaluation form, put a check mark next to each behavior used by the practitioner for attending and opening and closing a first meeting with a client.
- Pay close attention to what the client says.
- Write brief notes about what you observe in the client.
- Keep track of the time and let the client and practitioner know when 8 minutes are over so the practitioner can close the meeting.
Step 3: Feedback
Client Role
- Share how you experienced the practitioner attending and listening to you.
- Evaluate your use of the behaviors for opening and closing a first meeting and behaviors that demonstrate attending, observing, and listening.
- Give feedback to the practitioner on opening and closing a first meeting and the use of attending behaviors.
- Ask the practitioner about observations of the client related to facial expression, eye movement and eye contact, body posture and movement, breathing patterns, muscle tone, gestures, and skin tone changes. The peer supervisor will ask for descriptions rather than evaluations.
- Give the practitioner a check mark for each area that s/he was able to describe.
- Ask the practitioner to summarize what s/he heard the client say. Examples of probing questions
- Did you notice any shifts in the conversation?
- Did you hear any changes in the volume and speed of the client’s speech?
- How would you describe the client’s speaking style? For example, the practitioner might say, “The client had a clear, direct, logical way of speaking. His volume was rather quiet, but he tended to talk louder when discussing his son. He spoke rather slowly and deliberately.”
- Did you forget to listen at any time? If so, when? Any ideas about why you stopped listening?
- Did anything happen that made it hard for you to listen?
- Using the following scale, evaluate the accuracy of the practitioner’s summary of what the client said and description of the client’s speaking style, volume of speaking, and speed of delivery.
- Record the feedback in the practitioner’s textbook for future reference.
Evaluation Form: Attending, Observing, Listening, Opening, and Closing
Name of Practitioner ______
Name of Peer Supervisor ______
Directions: Under each category (in italics) is a list of behaviors or skills. Give one check mark worth one point for each skill used by the practitioner.
Building Relationships
Attending
Give one point for each behavior used by the practitioner.
1.Open and accessible body posture______
2.Congruent facial expression ______
3.Slightly inclined toward the client______
4. Regular eye contact unless inappropriate______
5. No distracting behavior______
6. Minimal encouragement______
Observing
Give one point for each item accurately described by the practitioner.
1.Facial expression______
2.Eye movement and eye contact ______
3. Body position and movement______
4. Breathing patterns______
5. Muscle tone______
6. Gestures______
7. Skin tone changes______
Active Listening Skills Content and Process
Using the listening scale in Appendix A, evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the practitioner’s ability to summarize what the client said and to describe the client’s way of speaking, including aspects such as speaking style, vocal tone and volume, and speed of delivery. On the following line write the score, from 1 to 5, for listening. ______
Beginning Skills
Give one point for each topic covered by the practitioner.
1.Introduce yourself and describe your role.______
2. Seek introductions.______
3. Identify where meeting will be held.______
4. Identify how long meeting will last.______
5. Describe the initial purpose of the meeting.______
6. Explain some of the things you will do.______
7. Outline the client’s role.______
8. Discuss ethical and agency policies.______
9. Seek feedback from the client.______
Closing Skills (for a meeting)
Give one point for each skill used by the practitioner.
1.Practitioner identifies that the meeting(s) is about to end.______
2.Practitioner provides a summary of the meeting(s).______
3.Practitioner reviews any tasks that the client agreed to complete.______
4.Practitioner discusses plans for future meetings. ______
5.Practitioner invites client feedback about the work.______
6.Practitioner ask client about any final questions. ______