Verbal Progress Bar

When we get asked a behavioral question, we have a tendency to answer from our gut. We respond quickly and think as we go. Most of the time we don’t know what we are going to say, we just start talking, saying what comes to mind first.

This approach gets most of us in trouble. We end up:

• Rambling

• Missing the Point

• Not Making a Point

• Lose our Interviewer

Just as when you answer a case question, you need to share your framework with your listener. Tell them what they are going to be told.

For example:

That is a great question. I will answer by first laying out the history and context you need to follow. Then I will dive into how I innovated. Then I will share my exeuction plan and learnings.

You can play with variations, but if you know you are going to use the S.T.A.R. format, then you already have an idea of where you are headed and what you are going to talk about. The act of sharing has two key benefits:

• Forces you to organize your thoughts.

• Gives the interviewer a way of following.

As you get to each new section, you can check with your interviewer to see if they have any questions. Then move on to the next section.

In short, this is a verbal version of the status bar at the top of most workflows these days.