How do I stop waffling in interviews?

This is one of the common complaints that my clients have – They fear that they waffle in interview answers. They find that they sometimes lose track of what they were trying to say so they continue talking and don’t know when to stop. Losing focus in interviews can easily happen but I can help you to regain that focus.

Finding your result

The key thing to do is to know your RESULT. Limiting your interview answer to 5-7 effective sentences is sufficient. Effective interview answers can be impressive with even 3-4 sentences! Eg. Explain the situation when you acted as a team player/did a great lesson and add “As a result, the task was completed ahead of schedule and each member knew the task that they were responsible for”.

More strategies to stop waffling in interviews

Some strategies you can use to formulate your answers are: 

• Think of your interview answer as having a beginning, middle and end 

• Use the STAR technique 

• Build your confidence by using affirmations, and ground yourself by reminding yourself of times when you were very effective as a teacher 

• When you are practising interview answers – reflect – what 3 keywords are they probably looking for? Use this information to practice your interview answer. 

• Do mock interviews with others and request that they make a planned gesture when they feel you are waffling. This will help you get a sense of how long your interview answers should be before you bore the listener. You can then re-evaluate your answers to include your core points. 

  
  

  A key role in my role as a Career Coach for teachers is to help them to feel more confident and prepared in interviews. Email me at hello@orladempseycoaching.ie to enquire about Interview Confidence Coaching Sessions with me.