Rephrasing your script or sounding as if you just came up with the answer requires some practice. Even with a lot of practice, some clients just can’t leave the sing-song tone of the answer. I did that, too, when I started my podcast. In some sessions, I sounded as if there are no scripts, while in others, I came across as a voice artist reading some dramatic storyline, or in some, I sounded as if I were reading a lecture note. So my lessons are from painful self-reflection.
1) Don’t Rush
This is the number #1 reason why you sound scripted. I used to rush into my script once I began picking momentum. In interviews, we set a pace for conversation internally, even before the session starts. Although the first 2 minutes would sound rushed, you will pick a pace that is true to your talking style. To break out of this tendency, practice the initial small talk 5-10 minutes before the actual session. This exercise will calm your nerves, and you wouldn’t require any adjustment in pace.
2) Professional vs. Casual Tone
Another hint that you are answering from a script is the strict adherence to a professional career in your answers. Some casualness in your tone will put the interviewer at ease.
What do I mean by casualness?
Let us say the question is, “Tell me about yourself.”
If you start immediately with “I did my Bachelor’s degree from…” it will sound professional, but the interviewer will immediately move towards your accomplishments. Not the best path to lead them. It then becomes choosing a better engineer, accountant, marketing person, or IB professional.
Instead of a direct pivot into a career, if you start with something like:
“I come from a family of engineers. My grandmother was an engineer at a time when it was an unusual career choice. My mother is a mechanical engineer in the Automobile industry, and I am an Engineer in the Oil & Gas industry. I would say, I have been inspired to choose a career path that is not easy for a woman.”
Any good interviewer will now ask about the family – the dynamics, the inspiration, and the culture the person grew up in. All these factors contributed to who you are. Schools know that. The admissions team knows that too. The tone of the interviewer will change, and secretly the person will start rooting for you.
3) Thinking, fake ahh.. and uneven pauses
Barack Obama is the quintessential orator. If you noticed the prepared speech vs. the answers on the spot, the ahh.. and the pauses are the differentiator. Although the President is known for the prepared speech, I found the unprepared one to be authentic and coming from the person and not from multiple speechwriters’ impression of the person.
I tested this fake ahh.. into a script. It didn’t sound great, but when I introduced artificial pauses to the script in an uneven manner, the podcast sounded much more real.
Be careful not to do a Christopher Walken on the script and stretch it too far. In the 80s, he used to bring authentic pauses, and the emotion filled the gap when dialogues are expected. The pauses can be an excuse to search for your script on a monitor. It works in video essays and zoom/skype interviews if the pause is created at uneven timelines in your answer. It will give the impression that you are a thoughtful person.
4) Online Interview – Follow Brando & Paste Notes behind the camera
Marlon Brando was infamous for not learning his lines and strategically eyeing for the next line in all the set artifacts from the supporting actor’s hats to penholder in the desk, where his lines were pasted.
With COVID, the online zoom/skype interview has become a norm. The unfortunate setback in not evaluating the emotions in person is a blessing for those applicants who get nervous and forgets their answer in an interview. With the online interview, you control the environment.
Paste the talking point or notes around the room, ideally behind the camera or towards the left side of your eyes, so that it sounds as if you were thinking and not imagining (right side of your eyes) the answers. For all scenario questions, paste the talking points towards the right.
Don’t stare too long. Use a large font so that you don’t have to search with your eyes.
Use the notes only if you get nervous or blank out. Don’t use it as a crutch if you have already prepared with multiple mock interview sessions using F1GMAT’s Mock Interview service.
Avoid setting up reflective objects – spectacles/window panes/glass artifacts in front of the camera. If you are using a spectacle, set the lighting in such a way that no reflection is seen in the session. Record, test and observe.
5) Subtle vs. Emoting for Action Verbs
Emoting for verbs doesn’t come naturally. While coaching clients...
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