These are common problems people face when telling behavioral stories:

• The problem isn’t complex: too easy a fix for the problem

• No conflict: More about execution and task focus than problem focus.

• Little Impact: Either the project is minor or storytelling lacks focus on impact you had on a problem.

• Too Many Details: Details for the sake of details

• Too Few Details: Stories weak and strong can fall into this trap

• No Metrics: Lack of focus on outcome. Related to by not necessarily the same as little impact (above)

Let’s dive in a bit more.

1 : Problem Not Complex

Some people who are focused on the details, try to compensate by picking simple stories. These fall flat and make you sound as if you haven’t been given a large scope. Or they pick a problem that has high visibility, but the solution is simple. That is alright occasionally, but problematic if most of all your stories fall into this bucket.

2 : No Conflict

Most good stories have a tension point. Otherwise, you are just walking me through how you operate on a boring day. Or you are illustrating your inability to tell good stories. And great product managers tell wonderful stories to engage listeners.

3 : Little impact

Product managers who don’t have an impact are not effective. You need to show you had an impact on a problem. Typically you can highlight a number to anchor your story, if you don’t anchor on impact, what is the point of the story?

4 : Too Many Details

Most product managers fall into this trap. We are trained through trial by fire to expect our engineering counterparts to poke us for the details. We get so used to this that we feel every time we communicate, all the details are necessary. When we assume this, we are WRONG. Product managers should prioritize the details they use in a story just as they prioritize their backlog.

5 : Too Few Details

Many of us go to the other extreme after being told we gave too much detail. We scale back too much and lose our listeners. Keep the story balanced. You can always give a high-level answer and ask if they want more details.

6 : No Metrics

A product story without a metric or measure is lacking and falls flat. For interviews, there are few stories that will stand without impact proven by some measure or statistic. Think: 4% increase in revenue, $1B in subscription revenue, 2B users signed up.

Don’t fall into these common traps. Tell your mock partners to help you identify when you are falling into any of these traps.