Communicate for Heaven’s Sake!

Someone I know has an inability to communicate information in response to questions. For example, I said “How much does that cost a month?” The answer was “Well, I bought it for a year.” “How much,” I asked again, “does it cost a month?” “Well,” was the answer, “maybe I bought it for six months.” Again, I asked how much it cost a month. The response this time was “$125.00” “Well,” I replied, “Is that a month, like I asked for, or is that for the year?” “For the year,” she replied, “I think.” I did refrain from homicide, though no jury would convict me.

Some people, if you ask them “Are you married,” will reply “Ice cream.” Unfortunately, we’re seeing far too much of this in executive interviewing. Job-seekers are refusing to answer simple questions with simple answers. Instead, they’re listening to coaches who tell them to answer questions obliquely. This is a major mistake. Here are some simple tips.

1). Actually listen to the question. Hear what the person is asking. This is the first and foremost requirement to intelligent answering of a question. Sometimes, in interview training, my clients are answering questions I never asked and refusing to answer clear, concise, and uncomplicated questions I ask. This habit is a very, very bad one. It is common whenever the subject of remuneration comes up. If I ask “And how much were you making at your last position,” I often get, “I like frogs a lot.” Don’t avoid this question. It is really making people angry.

2). Don’t rush ahead in your mind to answer the question. People generally hear about 10% or less of what any individual says before they start to frame an answer to it. This is why so few people actually respond to what someone else has said. SHUT UP for heaven’s sake. Close your big mouth and open both your ears, and shut off your monkey mind and actually listen to what the other person is saying before you begin to frame a response to it.

3). Engage your mind before your mouth. Think for a moment before you answer a question or make a comment. Too many people flap their jaws without connecting their brain to them first. Few people use even half of the brains God gave them, so if you use that or more you’ll appear to be one of the smartest people in the world.

4). Answer the question, not what you want to answer. Trying to get an answer to the question that was asked, especially in an interview, is one of the hardest things in the world. Don’t evade. Don’t go around the barn to answer the question. Answer the question!

I see executives stumble and mumble when they’re asked to give an example of something, especially a “team player” question. These folks give their philosophy on being a team player. They say how much they like team players. How important it is to be a team player. The thing that few of them do is give an example. I’ve seen more interviews blown with executive evasiveness than any other way.

5). Can your corporate jargon. “Well, I’ve always found it vital to proactively apply 24X7, 365 solutions to integral issues within the hierarchical structure to operationally increase one on one customer interface for the enhancement of bottom line, and even middle line or top line equations.” Huh???? Believe me, I’ve heard worse than this. Try speaking English (or Spanish or whatever) rather than Corporatese. Many people, including me, truly hate that hooey. All you’re doing is showing how ignorant you are when you speak like that. Someone with a working brain can explain, to some degree, Quantum Mechanics to a second grader, much less business. Business is not really rocket science, although some businesspeople try to make it seem so. I’m consistently amazed by the lack of common sense that some executives display. Go talk to a second grader or a horse and get some horse-sense in your brain instead of your jargon.

6). Assure understanding. After you’ve answered an interview question, make sure that the interviewer understood. Check it out. Say, “Is there anything you feel I’ve left out there that I could talk about a bit more?” Take full responsibility for any lack of understanding of the answer you’ve given.

7). If they aren’t understanding your answer, it is your responsibility, not their stupidity. If people continually have a problem understanding you, it isn’t that they’re stupid. It is that you aren’t clear. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to speak to the lowest common denominator when you’re speaking. Don’t use a $5 word when a 50 cent one will do. Don’t ramble on and on. Keep your sentences short and in clear language.

Executive interviews are not really that difficult. It is the executives that make them so.

If you want to know more about executive interviewing, call me at 720.581.4301 and I’ll be pleased to speak with you. I offer executives at the Director Level, VP Level or “C” Suite Level a free, one hour evaluation. Part of that eval can certainly be a short, diagnostic mock interview to see where you are. Don’t guess whether or not you’re a good interviewer. Know.

If you’d like to make an appointment, call my partner, Nicole, at 303.480.5484 and ask to come in for an executive eval. She’ll make an appointment for us.

I hope this helped with your executive interview. Good luck!

J.