It has been 3 months since I have taken this module and has since gained many new insights in communicating effectively. Recently, along with some of my colleagues, we conducted several rounds of interview to look for suitable candidates for our newly set-up club.
During the interview, I applied what I learnt from class and realized that I have become more aware of the things that happen during a conversation. Take for example, the non-verbal cues that people give when they are talking. It tells a lot about the person just by looking at the way he or she presents herself or even the way he or she sits. I remembered clearly there was one girl who came in, sat down at the brim of the chair, had her legs closed, and was bending slightly lower than the rest. She spoke really soft. Overall, all of us who interviewed her picked up the cues quite strongly and thought she was not confident and was extremely nervous. There were many others who had different kind of cues as well, like shaking their legs vigorously or playing with their fingers. I think the shaking their legs cue was the funniest because the entire chair shook like as if there was someone shaking it using a lot of force.
Generally, I think I had become more conscious of body language which I think would really help at this point in time because I am going to go for many job interviews.
So, have you come across anything like this recently? Like picking up the different kinds of cues as people engage in the conversation. Please feel free to share any experiences here.
Cheers,
Siew Cheng
About Me
- Siew Cheng
- Yr3 Major in Molecular Cell Bio Absolutely passionate with realising the potential of the Youths. Currently busy with Project Vibrant Colours 2 which is a Nation-wide Service Learning Project. Made for youths, by youths. Currently looking for mentors and also $$ for operational cost so if u're interested to know more/ keen to support,please do let me know.
6 comments:
Hi Xiu Cheng,
I also had a similar experience as you. This happened when I was in secondary four. Being in the executive committee I had to conduct an interview for those sec 3 students councilors so as to access their capability if they were capable to take up post like president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and so on. That was the first time doing that.
I had some expectations on these students. To my dismay, some of the students interviewed were horrible. They came in their sweaty uniform. This was especially found in the boys. I think they had just a game of football before coming for this interview slot. I remembered that a particular gal who could not playing with her fingers. I did not understand why she was doing that. However, I assume that she was nervous.
Luckily, not all the students were like that, if not I would have a hard time choosing the best person to fill in the various positions.
Thus, after taking up this module I feel that it is important to have good interview skills if one wants to get the job. Thanks Xiu Cheng for highlighting the importance of having good interview skills. Commented by ramani d/o challiah
Hi Siew Cheng,
It is very interesting to hear about the different types of inappropriate behaviour during interviews. Your blog post serves as a great reminder to all who are going for interviews! Like not shaking legs, looking confident and so on…
I worked as a relief teacher during my school holidays. As a teacher, I also got to observe the different behaviours of my students. When questions are asked, some students would answer in a ‘serious’ manner and provide the correct answer, whereas some would just say ‘Teacher, I don’t know la!” From this simple interaction with the students, I am able to tell who the serious learners are and who are not. Moreover, non-verbal cues from the student conveys message too! For example, the way they sit in class and the amount of books they leave under their tables after school tells a lot about their character.
Like you, after taking up this course, I learnt more about body language and the importance of non-verbal cues. I would think it is a good idea to actually offer this sort of lectures to secondary school students and correct their behaviour from young. =)
Cheers, Xiujun
Hi Siew Cheng!
It is good that you have some experiences as an interviewer so that you have some idea of what to expect when you go for interviews yourself as the interviewee!
Anyway, I wonder how you react to those poor nervous girls? I certainly hope that you did not laugh at them. I think that in a situation like yours which is not too serious, you should say something to help the interviewee relax. Maybe you can make a joke or say something funny to diffuse the tension. You can also just start off with some questions about the weather or something.
Although it is true that a less confident person gets nervous more easily, I do not believe that the fact that someone is nervous means that they are not confident. Hence, I feel that you should not judge a person based on how nervous they are. An interview is a situation which may make even the most confident person shaky.
Lastly, I feel that it is also important as an interviewee to look out for non verbal cues from the interviewer as well. For example, if the interviewer keeps looking at the clock it means that they're bored so we have to make an extra effort to get their interest.
That's all from me thanks!
Regards,
reZa
Hi all, Thanks for leaving down your comments. Anyway, Reza no worries we did not laugh at the girl at all neither did we laughed at anyone of them. In fact, we ourselves having gone through interviews before could totally understand things that they were experiencing right at that moment. Hence, we asked really casual questions too, had jokes and laughed with the rest of the interviewess as well. It was a group interview.
I agree with you not judging the person base on his or her non-verbal cues as well.The conclusion came along with reading her profile, like some kind of CV and from some of the answers too. The non-verbal cue was like the supporting evidence?
Ramani, I can totally imagine how your reaction was when you saw the boys coming in with the sweaty shirt.
I guess Xiujun is right, it will certainly be a good idea to actually offer this sort of lectures to secondary school students and correct their behaviour from young.
cheers,
siewcheng
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