Practicing interview presentations may feel like homework, but it’s what turns expertise into confidence and clarity.
If you have children, you’ve had this argument in your house. "Do I have to do my homework?" The child may find every reason under the sun not to do their homework. Although I don’t have children, I have nieces and nephews and friends with kids, and I understand the conundrum of arguing with a kid about why they have to do their homework. As a parent or someone helping with homework, some typical responses might be:
- “Homework is like exercise for your brain – the more you practice, the stronger your skills get.”
- “Mistakes are part of learning – homework gives you a chance to make them and learn from them.”
- “Homework helps you get better at things you’ll need for your future.”
- “Everyone who’s good at something – writing, math, sports – has done a lot of practice outside of instruction time.”
So, why am I talking about homework? Homework is like interview presentations?! What?! Yes! Why do I have to practice for an interview presentation? I already know all the content. Let’s apply the above to interview presentations:
- “Presentation practice is like exercise for your brain – the more you practice, the stronger your skills get.”
- “Mistakes are part of learning – presentation practice gives you a chance to make them and learn from them.”
- “Presentation practice helps you get better at things you’ll need for your future.”
- “Everyone who’s good at something – interview presentations – has done a lot of practice outside the assigned presentation time.”
Did you see what I did there? Practice isn’t always fun. It’s not pretty. Many times you don’t feel like doing it. But the purpose of homework, and in this case presentation practice, is to be ready for test day – interview day. When you work on your presentation skills outside the actual presentation, you get the opportunity to learn. What do I sound like? Does what I’m thinking come out of my mouth like I thought it would? Did that story about that past project and how it’s exactly like the client’s project make sense? Did I get my point across?
Interview presentation preparation also involves some research. You must determine who is going to be part of the selection committee and what they care about (hot buttons). Have they worked with other architects, engineers, and contractors? Are they well versed in this industry? Knowing who your selection committee members are is important to how you deliver your message. An owner (like a hospital or school) may understand the industry speak and have experience working with you or another firm. Another owner (like a physician who’s building a clinic) may not understand the industry terminology. Understanding your audience and doing research on who they are and what they care about is important. This could include a Google search or LinkedIn profile search, but also picking up the phone and calling mutual connections.
Interview presentation practice allows your team to hear what you are going to say and what they are going to say. The team can work off of one another’s stories and tie them into the client’s project. As the technical professional, you have all kinds of stories to share. Find one or two that are relevant to your client’s upcoming project and focus the interview on them. Tell them how you plan to approach their project and solve their problems. Every firm that is being interviewed is capable of completing the project. It’s just a matter of connecting with the selection committee and solving their problems.
Practicing with your team allows you to make mistakes before interview day. You can change what you are going to say if it doesn’t sound the way you want it to. Having someone on your team who isn’t going to be in the interview act as the owner helps you have an audience and ask questions. Mistakes are OK. And even if you make a mistake in the interview, most of the time the client doesn’t realize it. If they do, then correct yourself and move on.
“But won’t practicing too much make me sound rehearsed?” Memorizing will make you sound rehearsed. Practice will make you prepared for the interview, not rehearsed. We aren’t in theatre, and many architects, engineers, and contractors don’t have that skill set like they do on Broadway or in L.A. Practicing allows you to make the mistakes like I stated above. When you practice something, you get better at it each time. Each interview presentation is different, because it’s a different owner and a different project. The interview must be customized to the project and how you will solve their problems on that project. Even if you have completed multiple projects for this owner, it’s a different project and a different set of challenges. Of course, emphasize the relationship and the past projects you’ve completed for them. Tell them how those past experiences and relationships will help the next project.
If you have done tons of interviews in your career, you know they do get easier. You get more comfortable. It’s because you’ve practiced and done more and more each year of your career. Again, you still practice before each interview, but you are more comfortable and better each time. No different than completing writing tasks for homework.
As a younger or infrequent presenter, practicing with an experienced professional will help hone your skills. You will need to practice more often before a presentation than some of your co-workers. That’s OK. But remember, the more you practice, the more comfortable and the better you get.
Interview presentation practice isn’t always fun, but it’s necessary. It helps you be the best you can be in front of that client. It allows you to be you versus stumbling through the presentation. Practice makes you a better professional. My advice to all my technical professionals is to practice, practice, practice. Then ask for feedback on how to improve.
 |
Lindsay Young, MBA, FSMPS, CPSM is a marketing services advisor with Zweig Group and president and founder of nu marketing. She can be reached at lyoung@zweiggroup.com. |