Do you panic when called to speak on a subject before a group without any preparation? Do you have trouble coming up with good, I mean really good answers to interview questions? There are dozens of techniques for handling these situations, and I'll discuss one such technique: telling a story you know well.
You have many stories and experiences in your life which you know well. The technique or trick of this approach is to "twist" the question you've been asked to fit the story you already know well. Then you just tell your story, making small adaptations as you tell it to fit the question.
Let me give you an example. I have a story about going with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece to Six Flags amusement park. During that trip, my niece, who's 12, was excited to ride many of the rides that I couldn't stomach, many of which involved "falling" in some way. Since my sister wasn't riding much either, she and I spent the time talking and catching up while my brother-in-law and niece were waiting in the lines. My brother-in-law got really sick on one of the easier rides (the Sombrero) -- apparently he has problems going backwards.
How can this story be "twisted" to the question?
If asked about closeness with my family, I can tell this story, emphasizing the quality time I spent with my sister and her family. If asked about dealing with people, I tell the same story, except this time it's about not making fun of my brother-in-law while he was feeling sick, and trying to fill in for him with my niece on some of the rides I otherwise would have skipped. If asked about accepting change, it's the same story, and how moving backwards just leaves a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, too. If I want to add some self-deprecating humor, I can play up that my 12 year old niece can leap over a building in a single bound (the Superman ride), when the best I can manage is eating 2 scoops of ice cream sitting on a bench.
Can this help you at times other than Table Topics? Absolutely!!!
Suppose you have a success story about how you handled a very upset customer whose business you were about to lose. You're being interviewed for a new job and the interviewer says, "Tell me about a time that your actions turned a bad situation around". You've already got your story (answer), just emphasize how you regained the customer's trust. Or maybe the interviewer says, "Describe a recent success that you've had." Same story, emphasize the business impact. Or maybe the interviewer's question is completely open, such as, "Tell me about your ideal job", or "Tell me about your typical day". These are almost useless as interview questions, but they open the door wide for you to relate your biggest successes! You tell the same story, talking about how your ideal job would present opportunities to make a difference like this every day, or how solving tough customer problems is what energizes and invigorates you every day you come to work!
To ace an interview, prepare about 10 of your success stories beforehand, and match up each story with a question during the interview to get "your story" told. What's more, being able to twist interview questions like this puts you in control of the interview, and lets you talk about your successes, even when the interviewer isn't particularly competent. That can give you a tremendous leg up against the other people competing for the same position.
We all have stories and experiences -- of all types -- that can be twisted by focusing on particular aspects of each story as they relate to a new question that's being asked. Being able to pair a question with a related story is a memory association technique that gets better with practice, and Table Topics is a tremendous way to perfect this important communicaton and leadership skill.
--- Mark Schroeder
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