How can you demonstrate effective communication skills during an interview?

1 Prepare your answers

One of the best ways to show your communication skills during an interview is to prepare your answers in advance. This will help you avoid rambling, stuttering, or giving vague responses that could confuse or bore the interviewer. To prepare your answers, research the company, the role, and the common interview questions for service operations. Then, practice your answers using the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This method helps you structure your answers in a clear and concise way, and show how you used your communication skills to solve problems, achieve goals, or handle challenges in previous or hypothetical scenarios.

2 Listen actively

Another important aspect of communication skills is listening actively to the interviewer. This means paying attention to what they say, showing interest and curiosity, and asking relevant follow-up questions. Listening actively shows that you respect the interviewer, that you are engaged in the conversation, and that you can comprehend and respond to their questions or feedback. To listen actively, avoid distractions, maintain eye contact, nod or smile occasionally, and use verbal or non-verbal cues to indicate that you are following along. For example, you could say "I see", "That's interesting", or "I agree" to show that you are listening.

5 Avoid common mistakes

When communicating during an interview, it's important to avoid some common mistakes that could damage your impression and credibility. These include interrupting or talking over the interviewer, using filler words, using jargon without explaining it, giving too long or too short answers, being negative, defensive, or arrogant, and lying or exaggerating your skills or achievements. To stay on the right track, practice your answers beforehand, be respectful and courteous, use clear and simple language, balance your answers with facts and opinions, be honest and humble, and focus on the positive aspects of your communication skills.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?