The interview was conducted at the Public Affairs Offices at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. The interview included Clarence Davis, the Public Affairs Officer, and Julia Yubeta, the Public Affairs Assistant. Mr. Davis wanted Ms. Yubeta to participate to gain experience in how the office assists students. The interview reinforced concepts around interpersonal communication learned in the textbook, such as active listening, being mindful of others, and communicating effectively across cultures.

1. Unit 9 Assignment

2.  I conducted my interview at the Public Affair
Interpersonal
Offices (2-292B) located in the William Communications
Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso,
Texas. The appointment time was set up in Interview by Connie
advance for Friday September 17th, 2010 at Kimeu
2pm.
 My interview included Clarence Davis (Public
Affairs Officer) and Julia Yubeta (Public
Affairs Assistant).
 Mr. Davis wanted his assistant to participate in
the interview in order to give her a better idea
as to how the office strives to assist students
reaching for higher education.

3. Answer: Relation to Topics:
 “Yes, as we are a federal agency our  This question directly relates to
main goal is to keep the public informed interpersonal communication through
their dealings with the public.
about the projects we are working on as
well to promote the facility to our  By being a federal agency they
communicate the needs and desires of
military service members. Our goals the community through their programs
include overall health and wellness, and and participate in an open-
a secondary yet just as important goal is communication style with the public
to show the public that we are being and their superiors.
good stewards of their money. That we  Because they are dealing with various
are supplying well needed programs with types of military personal they also
the funding provided to us through tax have to keep in mind cultural
collection, government grants, and diversities as the Army is made from
many cultures, each with their own
military backed funds.” traditions and means of
communicating effectively.

4. Some information from the text that coincides with Mr.
Davis’s answers to question number one include:
Page 19: A Communication Continuum: They advocate through many types of people
and in a way they are the voice of the community.
Page 21: Features of Interpersonal Communication: They are based on a systemic system
whereby they reach many people through many programs designed to specifically
cater to the needs of the community in various ways.

5. Answer: Relation to topics:
 “Yes, it is extremely important for us to be
able to communicate effectively with  He made some very excellent points about
cultural tendencies in mind. An important cultural diversity and the importance of learning
part of our work is to advocate that this from other cultures.
facility has an open-door policy and all  By monitoring the communication between
cultures are observed with the utmost cultures you can effectively and with respect
respect. I have been in public affairs for respond to the diversities with confidence.
over 10 years and at this point keeping  He also made a reference that we all have a
cultural differences in mind comes generalized idea on how a culture is perceived
naturally to me. At one point in time it that can often be wrong from the actual
required thought from my part on how to expectations of the culture in question.
respond to certain requests regarding an  Stereotypes play a large role in how other cultures
issue regarding the diversity of cultures. I are accepted and treated and he had mentioned
think the most important thing to keep in several situations when he was beginning his
mind when dealing with other cultures is career in public affairs that had an impact on how
that you really have to listen and not just he communicates between cultures.
hear what the other person is trying to say  The negative impacts of stereotypes color our
and keep in mind what is considered an ideals about other societies and cultures in
acceptable response in their culture.” general.

6. Some information from the text that coincides with Mr.
Davis’s answers to question number two include:
Page 15: Participating Effectively in a Diverse Society: They deal with many types of cultures
in their work with the public. The Army is made up of many people from many
cultures and they keep those cultures in mind during communication.
Page 34: Monitoring Your Communication: Because they are the voice of the people they
take great care in monitoring their communication with others to effectively
convey messages through the community.
Page 49: Generalized Other: They are directly influencing the ideas that the community
has about military service as well as military facilities.
Page 71: Stereotypes: They work on a day-to-day basis to avoid stereotypes and break
them down to show a more open line of communication between the facility,
the public, and other cultures within the area.

7. Answer: Relation to Topics:
 “I believe the most important  In order to hear and
interpersonal skill is to understand what the sender
listen. Hearing is on thing is trying to say the receiver
and listening is another needs to be open about the
entirely. When you hear you
aren’t paying attention to the communication process.
context that the message is  If the receiver isn’t
being delivered in and “invested” in the
therefore you are communication then the
“drowning” out what the sender’s need to be heard is
sender is trying to say.” being unmet.

8. Some information from the text that coincides with Mr.
Davis’s answers to question number three include:
Page 17: Models of Interpersonal Communication: If the sender is not being heard then
the model becomes linear. If it is two-way communication where both the sender
and receiver are being heard then it is an interactive model.
Page 32: Adapting Communication Appropriately: In order to cater to the publics needs
they need to be able to communicate their information in a variety of ways which
includes being able to listen to what the public has to say.

9. Answer: Relation to topics:
 “Listening first and foremost is one of  Again listening and not just hearing is
the most important skills that everyone mentioned.
should have. I think that patience and
appreciation are also important. You have  He briefly addresses conflict in an
to have patience to really listen to what abstract way regarding
someone has to say and you have to communication.
appreciate their culture, communication  He also mentions that by changing
styles, and personality in order to truly gain
insight into what they are saying. If you your demeanor the other person in the
show that you appreciate them as a human communication circle will be affected
being then they too will show you their and their behavior will mimic the
appreciation because you took the time to behavior of the other person.
really hear them. I think the quote “meeting  His example was if you are
of the minds” really influences how I deal
with people because you need to have a yelling, then the other person will
common ground with which to work on. yell, then the communication circle is
Once a common ground is found then lost because each person involved
communication can flow around it to build wants to be heard above the other.
rapport or a relationship.”

10. Some information from the text that coincides with Mr.
Davis’s answers to question number four include:
Page 115: Respect What Others Say about Their Feelings and Thoughts: In order to listen
and not just hear we have to allow the other person to express how they feel in a
productive manner without cutting them down and thereby creating a barrier for
effective communication.
Page: 147-150: The Listening Process: This area approaches listening and how to really hear
a message without getting lost in the noise around it.
Page 164: Be Mindful: Being wholly present in the conversation will save time, confusion,
and hurt feelings by the other party involved.
Page 164: Listen Actively: Mr. Davis mentions completely listening to the message before
responding and allowing enough time for the message to be processed by the
receiver in order to respond in an effective manner.

11. Answer: Relation to topics:
 “Yes, we look at how they
communicate with us throughout the  How we communicate as
interview. How they respond to our people can tell others what
questions is important because it can
tell us who is emotionally developed
and mentally developed which then
we are like and how we
gives us a great clue as to how the relate to them
interviewee communicates with
others. We also pay attention to their communication wise.
choice of words and if they respond to
us with intelligent and logical answers  Being mindful of how we
then we know that this person is aware
of themselves and how their communicate can open
communication styles influence
others.” and close doors of
opportunity for us.

12. A Learning Experience
In this last question Mr. Davis addresses many modes of
communication that apply directly to the context of the textbook from
being mindful to stereotypes. The interview reinforced everything I have
learned about interpersonal communication this semester. Being mindful
of others, dual-perspective, actively listening, and many other concepts
from this semester were either addressed directly by Mr. Davis or had a
soft undertone in the answers to the questions. I enjoyed completing this
interview because it really captivated me as to how important
interpersonal communication skills really are.

13.  Wood, J. (2010). Interpersonal Communication Everyday Encounters. Boston:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
William Beaumont Army Medical Center
5005 N Piedras
El Paso, Tx 79920-5001
Clarence Davis III
• Public Affairs Officer
• Phone: 915-569-1006
• Fax: 915-569-2729
• Clarence.davis@amedd.army.mil
Julia Yubeta
• Public Affairs Assistant
• Phone:915-569-1006
• Fax: 915-569-2729
• Clarence.davis@amedd.army.mil