For example, when I asked her where she used to live, she said "Newsome", then I asked her whether she had/has any brothers or sisters and she simply said "yes". I then had to improvise questions about their names and if she got on well with them. The short term memory loss played a big part of breaking communication skills because she could not remember what her brothers and sisters where called, how many she had, whether she got on particularly well with any of them or if she still sees them. I could see that she genuinely could not remember so I did not ask any further questions about her childhood as I did not want to upset her when she could not remember things. Instead, I changed the subject to more general conversation about the sweets that they were given. I used a encouraging and happy tone of voice because I thought that the conversation needed "brightening" up. This made the interview feel less formal. When I went to the residential home, I was wearing smart/casual clothes. This was so that I looked comfortable and reduced tension or any uneasy feelings that Betty may have had. One skill which was essential in doing the interview was the ability to improvise. I realised that the answers that Betty gave me were completely unpredictable so I had respond quickly, in an appropriate way. .
There was a big distraction to the interview which hindered the communication between us. A woman named Grace had previously suffered a stroke. She was unable to talk and had a big difficulty in understanding what was going on around her. For some reason she was fascinated with there being visitors in the home and wanted to talk to me. The only problem was that she is unable to, she insisted on holding my hand though. Initially, I was fine with her doing so but because she was mumbling, Betty and I were unable to communicate well as we could not hear each other. Also, Betty insisted that I made Grace sit down because it was frustrating her.
