1. Kwabena Frimpong-Manso (Ph.D)
Micro Practice Skills
Kwabena Frimpong-Manso (Ph.D)

2. WHAT ARE MICRO SKILLS They are used for working with individuals.
in social work the practitioner’s major tool is one's self and one's ability to interact effectively with clients and other professionals
Training must focus on the interactive skills necessary to be effective.

3. Effective communication
Relationships with clients are built on good communication and jointly planned work
Social workers therefore need good communication skills: attentive listening, empathetic responses
and interviewing skills

4. Effective communication
Social workers communicate with clients to:
gain information,
convey critical information
make important decisions

5. Interviewing Skills
Social workers spend more time interviewing than any other activity
Interview is a purposeful exchange between a social worker and service user or potential service user in which ideas, attitudes and feelings are exchanged
Can take place face-to-face, telephone or via a video link
There is a difference between a planned and initial interview

6. Interviewing skills-Types
Structured Interviews
Unstructured Interviews
Mixed Interview

7. Interviewing-Purpose
Information Gathering: obtaining and imparting information
Decision making: study and assessment of the client’s situation/ problem
What the problem is
What factors contribute to it
What can be changed or modified
Therapeutic: Interview as a direct tool for giving help
To effect change in the client situation/social situation
Such interviews use measures to effect change in feelings, attitudes and behaviour

8. Interviewing skills
Interviewing at the beginning stage of the helping process
Preparatory Reviewing
Preparatory Arranging
Preliminary Planning (prime purpose of gathering info.)
Introducing and seeking introduction
Clarifying purpose
Establish Relationship

9. Interviewing skills The developmental stage:
Organising Descriptive Information
Analyzing
Synthesis
Reflecting a Problem
Developing an Intervention Approach
Summarizing
Advising

10. Interviewing skills The Final / Concluding Phase Reviewing the Process
Evaluating
Sharing ending Feelings and Saying Goodbye
Recording and Note-taking

11. Basic Rules of Interviewing
Basic understanding of human nature, behaviour and motivation
The setting of interview is of vital significance: ensure privacy, relaxing and comfortable and free from distraction
The relationship between the interviewer and interviewee is of utmost importance
Listen to silence for it can be more evocative than words.

12. Talking
Speech, voice, language (body language) effectively to ensure a smooth interview
They convey whether you are interested in the client or not.
The quality of your pronunciation, sound and pitch of your voice communicate a great deal to the clients
Choice of words
Readily understandable to clients
Descriptive and observational rather inferential

13. Listening
Listening is Not the Same as Hearing- hearing is sounds whilst listening includes focus
Listening means:
paying attention not only to the story but how it is told,
the use of language and voice
and how the other person uses his or her body
Required Skills
Stop Talking
Prepare Yourself to Listen
Put the Speaker at Ease
Remove Distractions
Be Patient

14. Questioning
Asking the right questions is a foundation of any social work interview
Types of questions to solicit client information:
Further responses: Use words, phrases and non verbal gestures to encourage client to continue (e.g. mm, please go on, tell me more)
Closed ended questions (e.g. Did you call the benefits officer)
Open ended questions
Leading questions-Putting words in clients mouth
Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing responses (e.g. Client: my husband pushed, shovered and shouted at me because i asked him about his affair. Social worker: so you husband was abusive)

15. RECORDING
What is a Process Recording? A process recording is a written record of an interaction with a client.
Elements
Pertinent information-name and date of interview
State objectives of the interview

16. Elements Continued -Description of what happened
-A record of verbal and non verbal events
-Observations and Analytical thoughts in the interview- (E.g., "I wondered what would happen if I said such-and-such. I chose not to but I wondered whether I should have raised it”)

17. Elements continued
Future plans- Identification of unfinished business, identification of short and longer-term goals.
Identification of questions for field instruction- helping them become autonomous workers

18. THANK YOU