INT102 Interpersonal Communication Skills: Role Play Reflection

This assignment is a reflection on a role-playing exercise conducted as part of a Bachelor of Community Services course, specifically focusing on interpersonal communication skills. The student engaged in a simulated scenario where they provided support and advice to an individual uncertain about pursuing higher studies versus a vocational career. The reflection details the student's approach to the role, emphasizing the establishment of confidentiality and a positive, empathetic communication style. The student highlights the importance of active listening, non-verbal cues, and asking clear, direct questions. The reflection also discusses the student's personal views on academia, the challenges faced during the role play, and the advice given to the client, considering their individual needs and aspirations. The student concludes by expressing that the experience helped them to come to terms with their own stance on an academic career and realized they had the potential to be a good educational counselor.

ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET
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Misconduct Policy and Procedure found at http://www.acknowledgeeducation.edu.au/policies-
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collusion, may result in academic penalties.

Reflections on Role Play
When I took on the role of providing
support and advice to a student who is unsure of
whether to continue with higher studies or to
embark on a vocational career, I for one was
most excited. I myself am quite a passionate
student and an avid learner. I love to spend my
time reading and learning as much as possible
and I like to foster the same interest in people
around me, be it my friends, my peers or my
family members.
The role play that I undertook involved
me interacting with one particular client, an
individual who has not done too well in his
studies and who wishes to now drop out and
pursue a more vocational career instead. As I
engaged in a personal one on one interaction
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with this particular student the first thing that is
decided to ensure in our communication was
client privacy and confidentiality. I made it a
point to make the client feel as comfortable as
possible and gave him the idea that he had
nothing to worry about as far as the revelation of
information was concerned. I assured the client
that everything that he would reveal to me as a
part of the interview process is something that I
would keep hundred percent confidential and
that a breach of trust would not take place at all.
The fact that I did so is something that put my
client at ease immediately. At first he had
appeared to be quite stressed about the interview
procedure, but as he got to know that everything
that he would say to me would be kept
confidential, he looked far more relaxed and
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happy and at ease with the various questions that
I then proceed to direct at him.
Another thing that I made sure to keep in
mind at the time of undertaking the role play
was to keep my body language positive for the
most part. I gave the impression to my client that
he had nothing to worry about and that I was not
in the room to hurt him or to cause trouble for
him in any given way whatsoever. I also
managed to convey to him with my positive
body language that my intention was to help him
chart out the future course of his life, and
understand whether staying on the path of
academics would work for him or not, or
whether pursuing a more professional path is
what he was better destined for. I also made sure
that the questions that I was asking him as a part
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of the role play process were questions that were
easy to answer and were questions which were
asked as directly and with as much clarity as
possible so that the client did not find it difficult
to come up with the answers to my questions
and was instead able to respond to them with
ease.
The whole task of engaging in a role play
that involved me providing support and advice
to a person who was not sure of whether to
continue a career in academics or not, is
something that I found to be quite challenging
(Sticklev et al., 2015). I for my part tried to be as
empathetic as possible to the situation of the
client. It is true that academics is something that
is very close to my heart and I truly cannot
imagine a career that does not involve academia
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in some form or the other. However, prior to
engaging in the role play I realized that I was to
keep my personal views on academia aside, and
focus on the needs, the requirements and the
strengths and the abilities of the client in order
to be able to provide him with the type of
guidance that he needed to embark on a bright
future (Desai, 2018). Upon engaging with the
client on a one on one basis I realized that the
love for learning is not something that he had in
him at all, and all the studying that he had been
doing until date he had been doing only to
appease his parents and keep them happy (De-
Vito, 2019). He was more interested in going
down a different road, taking up a career in the
domain of mass communication rather than in
hardcore academia (Jeuring et al., 2015). Once
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this is what came across in my conversation with
him, I provided him with the most practical
advice that I could think of. I let him know that
continuing to study further is something that was
going to work well for him, as he would only
have to put in a sufficient amount of effort in
order to make sure that he got good grades and
got employed in a good college or learning
institute as a faculty member (Hargie, 2016).
However, I also told him that since his heart and
soul was not in it, he should consider going
down a different road instead, and since he was
a person who came across as one who had good
speaking abilities, a career in mass
communication would certainly work for him
(Adler et al., 2016).
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I offered as much support as I could to
my client in the short period of time for which I
was interacting with him. I helped him to arrive
at some closure regarding the matter of whether
he should continue studying or not, and did not
force him to answer the type of questions that he
was not comfortable answering in the first place
(Hooker, 2016). I even asked him if he would
like to re-schedule the interview for a later date,
but he revealed that he was alright in answering
my questions then and there. All in all the role
play experience was quite a delightful one for
me as it helped me to come to terms with my
own stance on an academic career, and also
realized that I had the potential in me to be a
good educational counselor of sorts as well
(Wood, 2015).
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Bibliography
Adler, R. B., Rodman, G. R., & Du Pré, A.
(2016). Understanding human
communication (Vol. 10). Oxford
University Press.
Desai, M. (2018). Module 5 Sensitive
Interpersonal Communication Skills.
In Introduction to Rights-based Direct
Practice with Children (pp. 129-150).
Springer, Singapore.
DeVito, J. A. (2019). The interpersonal
communication book. Instructor, 1, 18.
Hargie, O. (2016). Skilled interpersonal
communication: Research, theory and
practice. Routledge.
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Hooker, M. (2016). The Relationship Between
Digital Technology and the Interpersonal
Communication Skills of Generation
Y. Available at SSRN 3057797.
Jeuring, J., Grosfeld, F., Heeren, B., Hulsbergen,
M., IJntema, R., Jonker, V., ... & van
Zeijts, H. (2015). Communicate!—a
serious game for communication skills
—. In Design for teaching and learning
in a networked world (pp. 513-517).
Springer, Cham.
Stickley, T., Gosling, J., & Fox, C. (2017).
Communication and interpersonal skills
2: emotional engagement. Fundamentals
of Mental Health Nursing: An Essential
Guide for Nursing and Healthcare
Students.
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Wood, J. T. (2015). Interpersonal
communication: Everyday encounters. Nelson
Education.
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