Jeez, I am just no good at talking to people in a professional way. If I meet you and we get on well, I love to stay for a chat. BUT, when it comes to serious Q&A, I just get really uncomfortable. I'm an introvert Aspergirl, I mean what else is there to expect from me? :lol: So this week, I'm sitting in Deaf Culture and my teacher announces "you have interviews coming up. I want you to talk to two different Deaf people, one older, one younger around your age and ask them [insert questions here...] As soon as she signed that my heart dropped! It was like she told us we have to do group porjects. I feel so weird asking strangers personal or probing questions without ever really getting to know them, you know what I mean? I could keep in touch, but what are the odds of staying in close touch with people you interview or people who interview you for whatever? I feel like I have to become at least an associate or kind of friend before getting all in your life. I guess because I'm such a pessimist, I assume that the people's reaction will always be "ugh, get out of my life! :bang: Grr!" I'll run away in the corner crying "I just want to know you! :tears: Meh." I don't why a person would actually act like that, I just...I think too much. I don't really know what I came here to talk about. I just wanted to share my anxiety about giving interviews to strangers. Any advice or stories (good or bad) about times you've had interview someone or been interviewed? I can't be the only awkward soul with ridiculous social anxiety. What's worse is that I don't even know anyone older I could talk to, which just makes the awkward "hi stranger, tell me about your life" thing even worse because they're adults and I'm some kid asking them personal questions. My life... Oh! Since I'm already kind of talking about it, guess what happened with asshole I used to know (this should be the song!)? Okay, so a classmate of mine called me weak because I switched to Deaf Community Studies (DCS) with my Addiction Studies certificate and backed out of Interpreting. I thought that a little mean even though I laughed it off and said "well then that's me. Interpreting was just too much for this softie. hahaha" I don't know about that weak thing and probably shouldn't have laughed it off, but I wasn't gonna argue with her. I'm thinking "wow, weak? That's a stretch. What, is interpreting only for the big boys who can hang tough?" :rolle: :lol: Whatever. I look at this way. I want to work with addicts/self harmers etc anyway, so I figured since I'm learning sign (along with the other languages I'm learning), I would apply my addiction studies cert. to the Deaf community as well, see if the field is open and active in this particular community.) I'm sure it is. I just need to do my research, which is why I switched to DCS. I'm excited about it, fuck my classmate and her snobby ways, right? :lol: It's weird. For some reason some of the Interpreting students at my school are sooo freakin' stuck up. They're so into themselves because their interpreting students, I just don't get it and maybe that's part of why it wasn't for me. I know I sound like a hippy, but whenever I see this I think "man, let's just share the language, share the people, no one's better than anyone else, we're all learning the same things." I wish there was a hippy emoticon for how Woodstock I just sounded. :lol: :lol: How the hell did I start talking about this? Anway, yeah. I'm just nervous about the interviews and needed to write about it. Bleh...byee.
I'd suggest scripting/planning out what you want to say to the people you want to interview and then practising it with a supportive friend/family member, or even just in front of the mirror as many times as you need to. This should help with anxiety when you actually go up and approach a stranger and start talking to them - so you have a general guideline of what you want to say, and how you want to say it. When approaching strangers, it's always best to show respect for that person in words and tone - people are generally more receptive to intrusive questions if they feel like they are receiving respect. As for the whole kid talking to adults, I've been in that situation and it's not always the easiest. Faking confidence (smiling, eye contact, etc) usually helps me ignore those voices in my head that go 'That's an adult, you're a child. You shouldn't be asking these kind of questions to an adult.' Hope this helps
People approach interviews differently than they approach random people walking up and asking questions. People understand assignments and deadlines and things like that. So they'll tend to be more open to answering your questions. Lex
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely try it out. Did any of you ever have a bad experience with an interview?
I totally feel you on the interpreting programs. I dropped out of the interpreting program a few years ago, and felt the same snobbyness. I would suggest that if you have to do the interviews, go to a Deaf Social first. In my area, there are events like a monthy meeting at Pizza Hut, bowling leagues, coffee socials and things like that. Go try and mingle, and see if you could break the ice with a few people, then schedule the interviews for later that week.
What Lex said. People LOVE talking about themselves and like when others value what they have to say. If you were to politely ask somebody "Hey, I have this assignment and I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about blah, blah because I'm really interested in learning more". Most people will be more than open to that and its way easier than most conversations because everything is more scripted in a way. I personally love asking people tons of questions about their lives and things that I find interesting. More than once I have PMed random members on here to see if they mind sharing their story or something specific about their lives that I find interesting. Most people are more than willing to talk to you as long as you are genuine and respectful. Good luck with your assignment!
I'm glad it's not just me that's noticed the snobbiness of interpreter programs. First I thought maybe it was just my school or that I was overthinking it at times. You just confirmed that it seems to be every where. Where do you think it comes from? Maybe an overstated sense of importance... Oh and Trace, so nice to meet another signer! how long have you been at it? You have Deaf in the family or is it something you're just interested in? I'll definitely try asking people at the socials after chatting with them a bit. Thank goodness for facebook. I can get to know them at the social and not worry about interviewing them right then and there. Later, we can interview over the webs. It's much easier for me that way anyhow. I won't have to worry about not understanding their signs, or screwing up my own signs. Thanks for the luck, Ed!
Right now, it's just something I'm interested in. Studied for 6 or 7 years during high school and college. I've definately lost some of the language, but could get by if I had to.
That's really great, man. Gotta start somewhere. Good luck with your studies. There's this social network site called "AllDeaf" where you can chat with many signers: Deaf, HOH, Hearing. It's similar to EC, only for Deaf culture, not LGBT Culture. Check it out sometime.
