Last week we had the first textbook topic presentation by Katherine. She talked about the contracting meetings with clients according to Block. There are generally 11 steps to follow, which sound to be rigid but quite useful and flexible in practice.
After the presentation, it is made clear that the main goal of contracting meeting is not to diagnose the problem specifically and come up with possible solutions. As Dr. Hurst put it, you have a whole program period to do that. The goal of contracting meeting is, primarily, to meet with those who are in charge and get their permission of the project and the necessary access to further information which is needed to complete the project successfully.We need to make sure all the wants and offers of the both sides are clear and accepted, and the responsibility will be 50/50. Usually the hardest part is to negotiate with clients about what they need to devote other than the consultant's paycheck. Clients may expect consultant to be superman who saves the world with his bare hands. However, that is not how process consultation works. As consultant, we need clients' permit, support, cooperation and commitment. Clients are supposed to take no less responsibility than us. Only when this notion is accepted can the consultation be flawless and can the client get most from it.
This ideas is closely related to my experience in the English Language Resource (ELR) program at the Writing Center. As a ELR consultant, I work a lot with international students who need extra help with their English, especially written academic English . I am supposed to help them gain self-correcting skills by doing line-by-line revision. It is not enough to correct the mistakes I notice in their papers, but to show them how to recognize mistakes, how to utilize grammatical rules to correct them, and how to avoid similar mistakes in the future. This is pretty much a mini process consultation.
Normally one ELR consultation lasts for 60 mins. In the beginning, after greeting the student, I will ask him or her what he or she wants to work on today. This is what Block mean by "communicate understanding of the problem"(Blocks, 2011). Usually the student respond like this:"Well, I am writing a paper for my XXXX class. The paper is finished. I just want you to check the grammar and make sure there is no error in my paper." By saying this, the student makes his wants very clear, which is to have me play a role of a doctor, or an editor (as it's put in the Writing Center). But this is not what I should do. It does not match with my wants and offers as an consultant. So I need to negotiate with the student and make sure he understand how things will work in the consultation.
To respond him, I would first express my understanding of his concern. I will be honest with my background as a non-native speaker and let him know that I can totally relate to his situation. Then, I will ensure him that the grammatical issues he worries will be addressed in the consultation. After that, I will go to the "consultant's wants" by saying "probably it is impossible to go through the paper with in 60 minutes. How about this? Let's take a close look at the the first half of the paper and try to make it perfect. Then you can use the skill we use during the consultation to work on the rest later. How does that sound to you". It is expected that student may feel a little disappointed, but most of them can take it well. Sometimes, especially the paper is due two hours later, the student may be impatient and urge me to check out the whole paper. If this is the case, I will try to calm them down by making it clear that I will help them as much as I can, and suggest them to come early next time for better result.
As an ELR consultation, ending the project is not my option. I have the obligation to help the clients even if they are not very cooperative. Therefore, if the student is very impatient no matter what I say, or the paper will be due in 2 hours and the grammar is the primary problem, I will do as the student wants, while making it very clear that this is not the best way to work on his or her paper, and encouraging him or her come earlier next time to allow more time for constructive work.
Although the contracting stage is quite short in the 60 mins consultation, Block's steps and suggestions are still practical. By following the steps, I am able to analyze students' reaction and respond in a polite and efficient way.
Work cited:
Block, Peter, 2011, Flawless Consulting, A Guide To Getting Your Expertise Used (3rd ed.), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Annie,
ReplyDeleteI like your application to the Writing Center process. I think it’s great that you set your expectations and let them know what you as the client want and need out of the process so that by the end of the 60 minutes, they aren’t disappointed. Letting them know those needs up front prepares them for what is going to actually take place during the consultation. If it’s not something they want or what they feel they need, they technically have the option to opt out of your services. Just as all clients can do to any of us. As Block says though, at least we are being authentic and ensuring we are consulting ‘flawlessly.’