Listening Very Carefully

Yesterday, somewhere in England, I was being trained in some roleplay for a future occasion.

The man doing the training, whom I shall call James, though that isn't his name, is a psychologist and a bit of an expert in body language.

Most medical roleplay is done from a detailed brief - I am given the important points, such as any medical symptoms and how long the character has had them. I'm generally free to invent other details which help to make the character seem more real - such as names and ages of any children - as long as they don't interfere with the central theme of the brief.

So, if I was playing a character who was having quite a lot of exercise, I might say, for example, that I had a dog and took it for long walks every day. If, though, there was no mention of alcohol intake in the brief, and if in the roleplay I was asked if I drink alcohol - a common question - then the answer would always be "no" or to make it clear that the character really doesn't drink much. Otherwise, the student doctor might go off on an "is she a really heavy drinker?" tack which was not relevant to the aims of the roleplay.

For much of the roleplay work I do, the brief is just sent to me in the post or by email and I'm left to work out for myself how I'm going to play the role. I'm usually fine with that as I've done such a lot of it and I think - I hope - that I can generally work out what learning aims or assessment aims a particular role is trying to achieve.

However, James's training on any work I do for him is extremely thorough. He generally spends a whole afternoon on one set of roleplays - yesterday there were just three of us, learning three briefs. We went through each one in detail and then tried them out to see if they worked.

As I said, James is highly skilled in interpreting body language. So, in all previous sessions with him, if I've ever got a bit tired and glaze over for a moment, or if I don't agree with something he's saying, he's noticed in a flash.

"Are you all right with that, Daphne? Do you agree with me? Is there something you think isn't working?"

But hey, do you know what, I'm quite good at the old body language too. I know how to sit slightly forward, looking keen, with a fascinated expression on my face.

So yesterday, there wasn't - I hope - one moment when he could think I wasn't concentrating, or that I didn't agree with what he was saying.

And yet, of course, he knows from past experience that I'll just switch off for a little while when it's coming up to the tea break.

He surely knew that I was doing "I'm listening really intently" body language. And I knew that he knew. And he knew that I knew that he knew.

Tricky stuff, this Communication Skills lark.