PUTTING THE PROGRAM TOGETHER

Once your study program for the written examination has commenced, I suggest you make a radical departure from conventional study programs. Typically, most candidates will study for the written portion only for a predetermined amount of time, and then take the written. After the written examination, the typical candidate will take a break, and then delay studying for the interview portion as long as possible. The reason for this is nobody enjoys placing themselves in a weak or embarrassing position/environment (if you are new to this game, take a practice interview to experience the full impact of the last sentence).

So, the delay tactic is commonly utilized which compounds the initial problem. Remember, you do not develop razor-sharp speaking skills overnight, and the longer you prolong enhancing your speaking skills, the worse the problem becomes. Therefore, to put yourself ahead of the pack (way ahead of the pack), I recommend that you should also begin practice speaking (presenting yourself) in front of people on a slowly accelerating program while you study for the written portion of the examination. Notice that the emphasis in that last sentence was not on collecting additional study material and talking about interviews with other “experts”. The emphasis was directly focused on you learning to effectively present yourself and developing the skills and confidence to accomplish that task. As previously mentioned, unless you are a naturally gifted speaker, you need practice and lots of it! Effective oral skills are not developed overnight.

There are numerous methods that can be used to increase your oral presentation skills without initially making this concept a major project. Giving training programs in your department, becoming involved in social groups, enrolling in a junior college speech class, or joining a local Toastmasters club will give you an opportunity to overcome nervousness, learn to “think-on-your-feet” before a group, and be able to organize and present your thoughts in a confident manner (can you see the benefit of placing yourself in the same interview type of environment before your interview so you will be more comfortable during your interview?). Of the preceding suggestions, Toastmasters is a National organization that is designed to produce positive results for the timid and/or weak speaker by offering an opportunity to regularly practice before people who are striving towards a common goal; effective public speaking. Additionally, conducting a drill in front of your fellow firefighters is difficult if you are not prepared.

A slowly accelerating speaking emphasis is designed to allow you to speak before people during your written examination study program. As previously mentioned, this will give you experience in thinking on your feet, and assist in learning to organize and logically present your thoughts from a foundation of confidence. Remember to begin slowly at first, even though it is difficult (and that is one of the major reasons why most candidates postpone practicing for an oral interview until the last possible moment) and then increase your commitment as necessary. Initially, your presentation focus should be on the simple concept of “proper practice” and being comfortable in front of people. As the written examination approaches, begin to direct your oral presentation time towards fire department related material and your pending interview. When the written examination is over, you can then direct your efforts towards “fine-tuning” and “polishing” your oral presentation skills instead of finishing the written examination and then trying to develop into a “great communicator” in a short period of time like the rest of the pack.

Following are suggested methods for practicing and improving your communication skills for your oral interview:

• Perfect practice makes perfect! If you practice mistakes or settle for less than your best, then you will deliver less than your best in your interview.
• Initially, put typical questions on 3X5 cards. Use these cards either in a specific order or randomly to practice spontaneity and developing your thoughts on various subjects. Using cards will develop a “base” foundation from which you will steadily improve.
• When you feel ready (or comfortable), practice in front of your spouse, study partners, members of your family, etc. Remember, it is more difficult to convince your friends how wonderful you are as opposed to people who don’t really know you.
• Schedule practice interview boards with members of your department, preferably at least one rank above your present level. One word of caution. When you sit at the feet of “oral interview experts”, you will be introduced to numerous styles and recommendations on how you should “do it”. Carefully consider each recommendation for what it is, an opinion. Develop your own style, not someone else’s.
• Without a doubt, one of the most powerful and effective tools to improve your speaking skills is to video tape your practice sessions. As an example, it is easy to take some 3X5 cards and have your spouse/family members ask you questions while the video camera is on. I will guarantee that your initial attempt will make you wonder if you are really that bad. Most likely, you are! However, the voice, mannerisms, and presentation style you will see and hear are yours! What you see is also what the interview board will see. This style of media allows you to specifically focus on weak portions of your presentation. I will also guarantee that as you continue to tape your presentations, you will build on your strengths and improve your weaknesses, and as you improve, so will your confidence. Guaranteed!

With practice, there is no reason why you should not be able to walk into an interview with confidence, and although you may be nervous, you can still sit down in the “hot seat”, look the interview board in the eye, and mentally say, “lets go”!

Our next article will continue with interview preparation techniques.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 1:35 pm and is filed under FD Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.