Interpersonal Consulting Skills for Instructional Technology Consultants: a Multiple Case Study

Building a trust-based relationship with faculty is one of the most important attributes of effective Instructional Technology Consultants (ITC) in order to integrate emerging technologies into higher education. Utilizing a multiple case study research design, four experienced ITCs at a large urban research university located in the Midwest showed that interpersonal skills are crucial when consulting with faculty on course design, technology integration, and teaching. By applying eight interpersonal consulting skills (active listening, paraphrasing, summarizing, open questioning, closed questioning, explaining concepts, explaining procedures, and informal conversation), ITCs developed trust-based relationships with faculty and generated an atmosphere conducive to change. While research on interpersonal skills is limited in the field of Instructional Design (ID), other fields, such as counseling or medicine, offer promising methods and results for teaching these skills. This article concludes with a presentation of methods for teaching interpersonal skills in counseling and medical preparation programs that could be adopted in the Instructional Design curricula.