Understanding and Improving the Nontechnical Aspects of Client-Consultant Interactions

• Activity Number: 124
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 5, 2013 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Consulting
• Author(s): Heather Smith*+ and Jon Stallings*+ and Sandra Stinnett*+ and Doug Zahn*+
• Companies: Cal Poly and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Duke University and Zahn and Associates
• Keywords: video ; improving ; effectiveness ; implementation ; non-technical ; interaction

Abstract

The role of statistics in society continues to expand, as reflected in the 2013 JSM theme, Celebrating the International Year of Statistics. To support this expanded role it is more critical than ever that statisticians improve the effectiveness of their interactions with both non-statisticians and statisticians alike. The importance of this led 2012 ASA President Bob Rodriguez to create the ASA Career Success Factors Workgroup. This session is designed to address one of the goals of this Workgroup, namely, to give members of the ASA an opportunity to learn how to improve the non-technical aspects of their consulting skills. In this session a systematic and video-based improvement process will be discussed and demonstrated. Participants will have the opportunity to practice implementation of the process using previously videoed consultations. The session will likely appeal to statisticians interested in better understanding the complexities of the client-consultant interaction and to those interested in learning a systematic process for improving that interaction.