Interview Analysis

An interview is a structured or non-structured conversation, where one participant ask questions and the other provides answers. Generally interviews also involves the conversation being only one-on-one. Not long ago, I was tasked with this exact process of interviewing someone for a subject within my studies. This interview process was also slightly different to a conventional conversation, where the guest was just not required to answer the questions but also provide a story. The purpose of storytelling throughout this interview was to help me understand what values that the person identifies with and as been shaped by, making the words my guest selected very important in determining what these values where. Values are the principles or standards of behaviour that help one make judgements of what is important in life. It is from storytelling that I was able to identify my guests and my own values.

When preparing this interview, I wanted to ensure that I asked my guest a question around their work in which they could answer using some form of personal experience. The reason I wanted my guest to draw from personal experience when answering certain questions is because much of our ethics as people are shaped from experiences that have happened to us, with 90% of people being able to think of one experience that as defined their beliefs within the space of five minutes. I wanted my guest to share this during our interview so I could better understand what formed and shaped the values that they held and if they applied to my own. Throughout the preparation of this interview I also decided to think which values I held most important, this is because when listening to others share their stories we often tend to identify with the words or actions in others that also resonate with our own beliefs. This process is called communities of acknowledgement. I found the component of preparing for this interview to be essential towards the overall quality of conversation that would be gained. Overall I think that throughout the interview storytelling was achieved and that throughout the story telling I was able to spot the values of my guest quicker by thinking of what my own were.

Stories reflect our humanity, they shape our lives and it is from looking at the past it gives us a clearer look towards what we want from our future, I choose this guest as I find their story to be really inspiring and also wanted the opportunity to showcase this to others. When listening to the story of my guest I really wanted to deliver a presentation that I knew would highlight these values, this is why during the conversation process I would repeat a word within the story they had just told, to go over how I thought it related to a value that they held. It is by doing this that I am hopeful that it will make it clearer to viewer to see these ethic’s.

Overall, I feel as though the presentation highlights key values that my guest holds, by getting them to share and reflect upon their own experiences. It is also through listening to my guests conversation that I also learnt how important listening to someone else story can be in the process to forming and identifying my own values. Moving forward I found having this conversation to be a very useful tool in showcasing how important storytelling can be for people to exchange and find values but also better understand were they would like their future to be heading.

References

• The Guardian, 2015. Defining moments: share an experience that has shaped your values (Accessed October 3rd 2022)
• Lixionary, 2021. How do life experiences shape our values. (Accessed October 3rd 2022)
• Ethics Sage, 2018. What are values?. (Accessed October 3rd 2022)