by Rachel Knowles

Created on: August 27, 2009   Last Updated: August 29, 2009

An interview is a snapshot of who you are. It is a brief opportunity for you to make an impression on another person, whether good or bad. How you behave in that short space of time will determine whether the interviewer goes away with a positive or a negative feeling about you. So whether you are being interviewed for the local paper about a charity fund-raiser or whether you are trying to gain employment, the way that you speak and listen during those critical moments of the interview are vitally important.

The way you dress and carry yourself speak for you as you enter the interview room before you ever get to open your mouth. Make sure that you dress appropriately for the occasion. Even if suits are not normally worn in the office, most employers will expect you to make the effort to dress smartly for an interview.

Remember to hold your head up and look the interviewer in the face. This indicates self-confidence and a readiness to engage with them. Try to adopt an open pose, with unfolded arms and legs, and lean slightly forwards rather than backwards in order to display your interest by your body language. But a word of warning: be careful not to invade the interviewer's personal space by your enthusiasm, as they may find this threatening.

Throughout the interview:

Make sure that you listen carefully, nodding your head where appropriate to indicate that you are taking in what is being said. If you are unsure about a question, ask for clarification. This will enable you to answer the actual question being asked and not what you think it might be. However good your response is, if it does not answer the question, it is unlikely to be relevant. Be careful not to interrupt the interviewer, but listen to all they have to say before responding. Speak clearly and not too fast and try to answer the questions posed without waffling. Remember that it is not necessary or even desirable to tell the interviewer every good thing there is to know about yourself or your project. Select your facts carefully, choosing the most pertinent ones to support what you are saying. Be ready to ask a question when given the opportunity to do so as this indicates that you have thought seriously about the interview beforehand. Do make sure, however, that you have listened carefully and your question has not already been answered. Stay calm if challenged. Sometimes an interviewer will ask a difficult question or suggest your inability to do the job in order to see how you will respond. Do not lose your temper. Take a little extra time to think of your response and then reply in a calm and collected manner, to the best of your ability.

Remember that every interview is a two-way process and therefore speaking and listening are equally important. But it is not just a matter of what is said - how each person speaks and listens in the interview will effect the way each party feels about the other.

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