The skills you display at your job interview play a critical role in whether or not you get that job offer.  And with interviews in short supply given the current economic climate it’s probably never been more important for you to make the right impression and succeed when you have an interivew.

It’s all about attitude

Being successful in an interview has as much to do with the attitude that you go in with as what you say. If you think that the interview is about catching you out and finding out what you can’t do, then you are more than likely going to fail.

The real reason for the interview process is to give you the interviewee, the platform to demonstrate your abilities, capabilities, credentials and talents. There is a certain amount of self promotion needed here.

There is no question that humility and modesty are admirable qualities. However, these very admirable qualities also can be stumbling blocks on the road to success. There are so many talented people whose skills, achievements, and potential go undiscovered due to their desire to remain modest.

Through the proper use of self-promotion and understanding of modesty, one can remain both humble and modest while being recognised for your achievements and talents.

Putting some flesh on the bones

Put your self in the interviewer’s position for a moment. If you wanted to employ someone, wouldn’t you want to know as much about them as possible before you make the decision? You can only gain a very basic idea of what someone is like from their CV, it is really only a few pieces of the human jigsaw. At best, it provides the interviewer with a basic skeletal frame-work; it is during the interview that you have your chance to fill in the missing pieces.

If you were faced with 2 potential candidates who seemed pretty equal, you are more likely to choose the candidate who can express themselves with clarity and confidence and takes a certain amount of pride in what they have accomplished. If you are not prepared to tell the interviewer what you have achieved then the interviewer will never know.

No one ever won a job based on what they didn’t talk about.

The 3 Cs of your job interview

If you demonstrate your skills in the 3 Cs of interview, then you are well on the way to fulfilling most interviewers’ major requirements:

Capability

This is where you show the interviewer that you have the technical skills and expertise that are required. Don’t just talk about your aptitude in theory; find examples or stories that prove that you can do the job effectively. Use your past achievements to demonstrate that you have experience and initiative required.

Chemistry

How you come across to the interviewer is a vital skill. The more genuine you are the more likely the interviewer is to like and trust you. It is much more enjoyable talking to someone who is confident in who they are and comfortable about what they have to say, as opposed to having to continually ask questions to extricate all the information out of them. Most of us would prefer to work with someone who is open, warm and friendly.

First impression count, so working on your tone, facial expressions, posture and body language can go a long way to enhancing your interview skills, making the right impact, and make you feel more confident.

Commitment

After spending so much time, money and effort trying to find the right person for the role, an employer will want to believe that you are going to be fully committed to the job. It is your responsibility to demonstrate to the interviewer your enthusiasm and desire to work for their organisation. Make sure that you have done your homework and know as much about the organisation and work requirements as possible. If you really want the post you will make the effort to find out.

The interviewer will also wants to feel that you are there for the long-haul and not just using them as a temporary stepping stone to other things. Although, it never does any harm to express your interest in personal development and what opportunities they can provide within their organisation.

Interviews are not just for the interviewer to find out about you, it is your chance to find out more from them. Never be afraid to ask them questions, as this again demonstrates your interest and confidence.

Communication is key

Interviews are all about building relationships and building relationships are all about communication.

Excellent communication skills are vital to your interview success.

So make sure that you can communicate all the elements that makes you the right person for the job.

About the author of this Job Interview Skills Article

This article was written by James, one of Skillstudio’s consultant trainers. 

James is based in London, is an excellent trainer; and runs many of our job interview skills; presentation skills; and media training sessions (from 1-2-1 coaching and small group courses through to Masterclasses). 

Read more about James’ bio here.

Convince the interviewer you’re the best candidate for the job

If you want some expert coaching from James or one of our other job interview skills coaches to ensure you excel at your next job interview and get that job offer then Skillstudio are there to help.  We provide:-

Job Interview Coaching - 121 Coaching
Half day of full day, 121 coaching in Interview Skills by an expert coach.  Held throughout the UK and always tailored exactly to your personal requirements.

Job Interview Courses - Public Workshops
This is a one-day, highly interactive public workshop designed to build your confidence and the critical job interview skills required to ensure success at your next job interview. Its held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds & Glasgow.

Job Interview Technique Training In-House Workshops
We can also run our job interview skills workshop for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you excel at your next job interview.

We hope you found this job interview skills article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.   And good luck with your next interview!

A few people however, will have invested time and effort beforehand, researching the likely interview questions thoroughly; analysing how best to answer these questions using lots of relevant examples; and then by practising their answers, start to develop the skills needed to really “think on their feet”.  And when they are faced with the actual interview, they are much better prepared; more likely to present themselves in the best possible light … and stand a far better chance of getting the job offer.  And so can you if you are willing to invest some time and effort as you read this article!

Convince the interviewer you’re the best candidate for the job

You might already believe that you are the best person for the job and have all the right expertise but will you be able to convince your interviewer of that and beat the competition?

If you want some expert coaching to ensure you excel at your next job interview and get that job offer then Skillstudio are there to help.  We provide:-

Job Interview Questions and Answers 1-2-1 Coaching
Half day of full day, 121 coaching in Interview Skills by an expert trainer.  Held throughout the UK and always tailored exactly to your personal requirements.

Job Interview Skills Public Courses
This is a one-day, highly interactive public workshop designed to build your confidence and the critical interview skills required to ensure success at your next job interview. Its held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds & Glasgow.

Job Interview Technique In-House Workshops
We can also run our job interview techniques workshop for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you excel at your next job interview. 

And now to the Job interview questions …

OK, I now want you to start thinking about the questions you might be asked in your next interview.

Try and remember back to your last interview(s) …. what did the interviewer ask you?

And what I want you to do is to write down each of these questions on some paper (or record cards – if you have any) – so you can remember them. 

Leave some space between the questions on your paper – as you’ll be adding in some answers later in the exercise!

Building your Question & Answer Bank

If you’d like some help to come up with the questions … here’s a few to start things off …

Tell me about yourself ..

Why do you want this job?

I’m interviewing another 10 people for this post, tell me why I should choose you.

Tell me about your worst experience when working in the past 2 years?

What would your current manager say were your biggest weaknesses?

How would your colleagues in your current job describe you?

Give me an example of where your good team skills were evident in the past 6 months.

Pick the ones you want to store in your Question Bank – and write them down.

Include as many job specific questions as you can

Remember that the questions Ive given you so far are fairly generic ones … you need to come up with the typical job specific ones …

So if you are an IT Systems Analyst you are likely to get some technical questions about software design, data analysis etc etc …. you’ll know the type and details required – and if you dont – you need to research this.

If you are an accountant or a physicist … or a doctor …. or surgeon … or teacher … or whatever … you need to prepare yourself as much as possible for the likely technical / job specific questions you’ll get asked.

And then write each one down – so you can remember them

Now count the number of questions you’ve produced

How many job interview questions have you got so far?

If you’ve less than 30 then you need to keep brain-storming … thinking about the last interview. Thinking through the questions they asked you …

Can you remember back to what your most difficult questions were? If you can, write them down – assuming you haven’t done so already.

Have you noticed any questions coming up several times in different interviews? Make sure you write them down.

Once you’ve got 30 or more questions … have a rest.

That was the easy bit!

OK so you’ve now got an initial set of interview questions – which are starting to form your Question & Answer Bank.

And that leads us to the next step … Coming up with answers for each of these questions.

Now I dont want you to write down the full text of an answer – I just want you to think about two or three bullets – three things you could say (in summary form) for each of these questions. Use the power of 3 – that’s often used by the professionals when answering questions in the media or even when presenting.

So get out a pen and start going through each of your questions you’ve built up.

And then think about 3 things you would like to say in answer to each of them … writing this down immediately below each of your questions.

OK you’re probably needing a bit of a change …

Assuming you’ve already completed 15 of the questions … and have 3 bullet answers on each … how about trying to answer these questions out aloud!

If you’ve got something to record your voice … (voice recorder, video camera, etc) then use that when you start the practice session.  If not, dont worry … just go ahead anyway.

Job Interview Question & Answer Practice Session

Now pick up your completed questions / answers.

Read out the question aloud … and then use your 3 bullets answer to help you answer the question in full this time – out aloud again.

Remember to give yourself 2 or 3 seconds before answering the question – to ensure that you’ve got the time to think first then answer. Try and keep to the question asked … be succinct … be confident …

And then repeat this scenario for each of the other questions you’ve completed answers for.

Once you’ve completed this run, if you’ve been able to record yourself, rewind the recorder and review how it went. Did you come over as you’d wanted? What worked well? What do you need to work on? Which answeres went well?

Make some notes of things you need to change and then you can come back to it later.

And the next step in your interview preparation is …

Now go back to the pile of unfinished questions and start the process again till you’ve completed next 15 – 20 answers and go through the Q&A session again.

And again … until you’ve got bulleted answers for each question in your Q&A bank and you’ve rehearsed your answers at least once in front of either the voice recorder or camcorder … and noted the improvements you want to make.

Need some personal feedback and help?

If you are finding it difficult to find the time to go through these questions / answers or would like some personal feedback and coaching from an expert trainer then you might want to consider attending either our 1-2-1 training sessions or public workshops.

Face to face training and personal coaching by an expert trainer is the only way to ensure that you really do maximise your chance of success in your next interview.

Click the link for more information on our 1-2-1 Coaching in Job Interview Questions & Answers

Click here for more information on our Job Interview Skills Workshop

OK … let’s move on to your most difficult questions …

Review the Q&A bank and pick out the 5 questions that you think are most difficult to answer. What is it about them that’s difficult?

Think about how you might want to change your answers … how can you present yourself in the most positive light – even if on first inspection the question – and your initial answer makes that difficult?

Now mark these difficult questions with a red marker or similar so that you can spot them quickly in the Q&A Bank.

Now go through each of these difficult questions and practise your answers again – with the tape recorder / camcorder running if you have one.

Review, update the answers again and make whatever notes again on what else you need ot change. 

Interview skills coaching can help you succeed

To get some expert advice and coaching to help you excel at your next job interview – click on one of the links below:-

Interview Techniques - 121 coaching
Developing skills and Answers for Job Interview Questions - Public courses
Job Interview Technique Training - In-house training

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of communication skills, including presentation skills, public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

This short article takes you through 3 important steps to help you prepare.

Step 1 – Do your research

Find out as much as you can about the company prior to the interview – so that you can sound knowledgeable and enthusiastic about wanting to work there. You can use the following tools to help you do your research:

• The Company Website – is always a good start to get a feel for the corporate feel of the company and the its vision
• Company Annual Report and News Page – check out these pages on the website to give you current news and updates on the company
• Industry sources – check out any business publications or websites that may have articles on the company to see what has recently been written about your potential employer and their industry.

Step 2 – Identify likely interview questions

Brainstorm all the possible questions you may get asked. To help get ideas – look at the job description to see what sort of qualities, skills and experience are needed for the role. Here are a few common questions that apply to most jobs:

• Tell me about yourself
• How would your current boss describe you?
• How would your colleagues describe you?
• Why should I offer this job to you?
• What are the main strengths you’d bring to this job?
• What’s your biggest weakness?
• Why did you choose this career?
• Show me how you use your communication skills in your current job
• Why do you think you’re a good team player?
• Why do you want this job?
• Why are you leaving your current job?
• Whats the biggest challenge you’ve faced in the past 3 years?
• Sell yourself to me.

Step 3 – Interview Practice

To help you fully prepare for each question, go through the following process:

• Write the question on one side of a prompt card
• Write your response on the other side
• Practice out aloud both saying the question and giving your response
• Fine tune your response, where necessary

By going through this practical process you will develop key words, phrases and ideas that you will be able to call upon in the interview. Once you practised a few times yourself try to get a friend to take the role of the interviewer to help practise your responses.

Remember – it’s the act of practising out aloud that’s important – you can’t achieve the same level of confidence by just saying it in your head. By going through these preparation processes you will be better equipped and more likely to have a successful interview.

Interview skills coaching can help you succeed

To get some expert advice and coaching to help you excel at your next job interview – click on one of the links below:-

Interview Techniques - 121 coaching
Job Interview Skills - Public courses
Job Interview Technique - In-house training

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of communication skills, including presentation skills, public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.    And good luck with your next interview!

In this article we’ll be looking at some techniques to help you achieve more in your next interview. 

Convince the interviewer you’re the best candidate for the job

You might already believe that you are the best person for the job and have all the right expertise but will you be able to convince your interviewer of that and beat the competition?

If you want some expert coaching to ensure you excel at your next job interview and get that job offer then Skillstudio are there to help.  We provide:-

Interview Techniques 1-2-1 Coaching
Half day of full day, 121 coaching in Interview Skills by an expert trainer.  Held throughout the UK and always tailored exactly to your personal requirements.

Job Interview Skills Public Courses
This is a one-day, highly interactive public workshop designed to build your confidence and the critical interview skills required to ensure success at your next job interview. Its held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds & Glasgow.

Job Interview Technique In-House Workshops
We can also run our job interview techniques workshop for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you excel at your next job interview. 

Dealing with job interview nerves

It is natural to feel nervous before an interview.  But unfortunately, when you are nervous you are more likely to speak too quickly and this will make you feel even more nervous.

To help control this, take two deep breaths before you start, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Try to breathe out for as long as possible and think of releasing tension with the out breath.

This breathing technique will encourage you to slow down when you start to speak and help you create a more confident first impression.

Make sure you are heard by your interviewer

When you speak, you want the interviewer to sit up and take notice of what you say. To do this it is very important that he/she hears every word. If some of your words are unclear, merge together, or are too fast he/she will soon lose interest.

To help maintain a clear voice that is easy to follow, take your time over each word you say. Don’t snatch at any words. Each word has a beginning, middle and end – even if it only consists of one syllable, so make sure each part of the word is fully pronounced.

Leaving off word endings can give the impression that you are hesitant and your voice will lack conviction

Pause for greater effect

Speaking in a steady pace will also help the interview to listen and remember what you are saying.

When you first start to speak, it helps to pause at the end of your first sentence for a couple of seconds.

This will help you to control your pace and you will be less likely to speed up once you start speaking. Pausing also gives you time to collect your thoughts and you will be less likely to lose track of what you are saying or for your mind to go blank.

Make a strong first impression at your interview

People make judgments about you from the way you come across to them through your use of body language. To project yourself in a positive way, you need to make a confident entrance.

Make sure that you look at the interviewer when you shake his/her hand. Ensure that your handshake is firm but not bone-crushingly forceful.

Good posture can help generate a confident attitude. It is very difficult to project a confident manner if you slouch in your chair.

To achieve a strong first impression, ensure that the small of your back is firmly in the back of the chair when you sit down so that your sitting position is strong and your back is well supported.

Using eye contact effectively

Eye contact also helps you maintain a confident style and it is important to maintain focused eye contact during the interview. The key time to look at someone is at the end of your sentence as this helps cement the message in that sentence. If you look away at that moment you may appear hesitant and your words will lack conviction.

When speaking to an interview panel the rule of thumb is to give around 3 seconds of eye contact at random to individuals on the panel. This is long enough to engage with individuals without over-staring at any particular individual.

Interview techniques – a summary

Here is a summary of the simple techniques you can apply in an interview to help you become more confident:

• Take two deep breaths before you start – to help slow down
• Take your time over each word you say – to avoid mumbling
• Pause at the end of your sentences – to help control your speed
• Check you sitting position – so that it is relaxed and well supported
• Use confident eye contact and share around the interview panel

Leave a lasting impression

Finally – try to enjoy your interview. If you look as it you are going to enjoy the experience you will send out the right signals.

At the end finish confidently with a smile and avoid any apologetic comments even if it hasn’t all gone according to plan. If you don’t draw attention to these things they are less likely to be noticed.

Interview skills coaching can help you succeed

To get some expert advice and coaching to help you excel at your next job interview – click on one of the links below:-

Interview Techniques - 121 coaching
Job Interview Skills - Public courses
Job Interview Technique - In-house training

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of communication skills, including presentation skills, public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.   And good luck with your next interview!

Here are three common questions and some guidance on how to answer them:

How to Answer Interview Question – “Tell me about yourself”

This is often the opening question and since first impressions are very important, you want to take the opportunity to present yourself in the most positive light. Without preparation it is easy to waffle, sound hesitant or for your mind to go blank.

Here are some tips on how best to answer this question.

1. Keep you response to around 3 minutes
2. Start with an overview of your highest achievement and then run through a short lead up to this with other jobs/work you have done up to this point
3. Don’t go into too much detail
4. If this is your first job – focus on your key areas of study and how these have led to you wanting this role

How to answer Interview Question – “What are your strengths?”

Select your three main strengths/qualities that are the most relevant to the job and for each strength give a specific example of how you have applied the strength to a work situation.

For example if you select team work as one of your key strengths you then need to support this with an example of when you have been part of a team and the contribution you made.

How to answer Interview Question – “What are your weaknesses?”

This is like a trick question which can easily work against you. The best approach it is to think of something you have recently identified as a weakness and have made positive steps to redress.

For example if multi-tasking has been one of your weaknesses you could explain how you have learnt to prioritise things more efficiently. You can then turn the weakness around to actually become a strength.

Its very important to spend time brainstorming questions and answers before your interview, so that you are prepared, feel less nervous and present yourself more confidently in the interview itself.

Convince the interviewer you’re the best candidate for the job

You might already believe that you are the best person for the job and have all the right expertise but will you be able to convince your interviewer of that and beat the competition?

If you want some expert coaching to ensure you excel at your next job interview and get that job offer then Skillstudio are there to help.  We provide:-

Interview Techniques 1-2-1 Coaching
Half day of full day, 121 coaching in Interview Skills by an expert trainer.  Held throughout the UK and always tailored exactly to your personal requirements.

Job Interview Skills Public Courses
This is a one-day, highly interactive public workshop designed to build your confidence and the critical interview skills required to ensure success at your next job interview. Its held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds & Glasgow.

Job Interview Technique In-House Workshops
We can also run our job interview techniques workshop for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you excel at your next job interview.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.   And good luck with your next interview!

Tip 6 – Preparing for interview questions

Before your interview, brainstorm all the difficult questions you could be asked. 

Write down the questions on prompt cards.  On the reverse side write down the answers you would give. 

Practise the questions and answers so that they become very familiar to you.  The more you practise, the more you will be prepared for them in your interview.  Having prepared answers to hand can help you to avoid any mental blockage which can happen when you are thinking on your feet and under pressure.

Tip 7 – How to answer the ‘Tell me about yourself?’ interview question

This is one of the most common openings in an interview but it is often difficult to think up a well structured response when put on the spot.  The purpose of this question is to give you an opportunity to make a good first impression and say something unique about yourself.  You are not trying to give your life history, just a few interesting facts about yourself to help make the interviewer remember you. 

To prepare beforehand, brainstorm three key things about yourself to use in this question.  e.g.  a recent success, a personal challenge, you main skills/qualities. 

The number 3 tends to be the magic number that people remember things in.  

Tip 8 – Preparing the interview presentation

Create a strong opening to capture the interviewer’s attention and clearly communicate your key message. 

The opening needs to clear and succinct. 

A long rambling opening gives the impression that it is going to be a long rambling presentation. 

Restrict the main body of your presentation to three main sections.  This helps to keep a strong focus.  Each main section is like a mini presentation.  It should have a beginning, middle and end.  This makes it easier to follow and easier to remember.

Ensure the ending is also memorable.  Use the opportunity to re-emphasise your key message.

Tip  9 – Delivering the interview presentation

Apply the voice techniques mentioned earlier – to help you make a confident delivery. 

Remember to use pauses to help you maintain a controlled pace throughout the presentation. 

Learn your opening and ending off by heart to create a strong first and last impression.

Ensure that you stick to the required time limit and that you don’t go over this – this means rehearsing the presentation beforehand so that you are totally comfortable with the material. 

Tip 10 – Leave a lasting impression

Finally – try to enjoy your interview. 

If you look as it you are going to enjoy the experience you will send out the right signals. 

At the end finish confidently with a smile and avoid any apologetic comments even if it hasn’t all gone according to plan.  If you don’t draw attention to these things they are less likely to be noticed.

Interview skills coaching can help you succeed

To get some expert advice and coaching to help you excel at your next job interview – click on one of the links below:-

Interview Techniques - 121 coaching
Job Interview Skills - Public courses
Job Interview Technique - In-house training

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of communication skills, including presentation skills, public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.  And good luck with your next interview!

Convince the interviewer you’re the best candidate for the job

You might already believe that you are the best person for the job and have all the right expertise but will you be able to convince your interviewer of that and beat the competition?

If you want some expert coaching to ensure you excel at your next job interview and get that job offer then Skillstudio are there to help.  We provide:-

Interview Techniques 1-2-1 Coaching
Half day of full day, 121 coaching in Interview Skills by an expert trainer.  Held throughout the UK and always tailored exactly to your personal requirements.

Job Interview Skills Public Courses
This is a one-day, highly interactive public workshop designed to build your confidence and the critical interview skills required to ensure success at your next job interview. Its held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds & Glasgow.

Job Interview Technique In-House Workshops
We can also run our job interview techniques workshop for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you excel at your next job interview. 

Tip 1 - Controlling interview nerves

It is natural to feel nervous before an interview, but when you are nervous you are more likely to rush and this will make you feel even more nervous. 

To help control this, take two deep breaths before you start, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. 

Try to breathe out for as long as possible and think of releasing tension with the out breath.  This breathing technique will encourage you to slow down when you start to speak and help you create a more confident first impression. 

Tip 2 - Speaking clearly and confidently

When you speak, you want the interviewer to sit up and take notice of what you say. To do this it is very important that he/she hears every word.  If some of your words are unclear, merge together, or are too fast he/she will soon lose interest.

To help maintain a clear voice that is easy to follow, take your time over each word you say. 

Don’t snatch at any words.  Each word has a beginning, middle and end – even if it only consists of one syllable so make sure each part of the word is fully pronounced.  Leaving off word endings can give the impression that you are hesitant and your voice will lack conviction.

Tip 3 - Using pauses to control your pace

Speaking in a steady pace will also help the interview to listen and remember what you are saying. 

When you first start to speak, it helps to pause at the end of your first sentence for a couple of seconds. 

This will help you to control your pace and you will be less likely to speed up once you start speaking.  Pausing also gives you time to collect your thoughts and you will be less likely to lose track of what you are saying or for your mind to go blank.

Tip 4 – Make a strong first impression

People make judgements about you from your non verbal communication – the way in which you say things and use your body language. 

So, to project yourself in a positive way, you need to make a confident entrance. 

Make sure that you look at the interviewer when you shake his/her hand.  Ensure that your handshake is firm but not bone-crushingly forceful.

Good posture can help generate a confident attitude.  It is very difficult to project a confident manner if you slouch in your chair.  To achieve a strong first impression, ensure that the small of your back is firmly in the back of the chair when you sit down so that your sitting position is strong and your back is well supported.

Tip 5 - Using eye contact effectively

Eye contact also helps you maintain a confident style and it is important to maintain focused eye contact during the interview. 

The key time to look at someone is at the end of your sentence as this helps cement the message in that sentence. 

If you look away at that moment you may appear hesitant and your words will lack conviction.

If speaking to an interview panel the rule of thumb is to give around 3 seconds of eye contact at random to individuals on the panel.  This is long enough to engage with individuals without over-staring at any particular individual.

We hope you found this article useful

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of communication skills, including presentation skills, public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.   And good luck with your next interview!