INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1€¦ · INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1 Interview Resource ... voice projection...

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1

Interview Resource 2013: World War I

Table of Contents

Preface: Meet the Judges .................................................................................................. 3The Rubric and Résumé .................................................................................................. 4

The Résumé ....................................................................................................................................... 4Religion on the Résumé ................................................................................................................... 6Pare Down the Paragraphs ............................................................................................................... 6

Dress, Appearance, and Demeanor .................................................................................. 7Dress and Appearance: To a T ............................................................................................................ 7The Handshake: Don’t Shake Them Up ............................................................................................ 8Say Cheese to Collect 100 Points ........................................................................................................ 9Posture: Straight as an Arrow ............................................................................................................ 10Don’t Gesture like a Jester ................................................................................................................ 10

The Eight Basic Questions ............................................................................................. 12Responding to Questions ............................................................................................... 14

Take Them by Surprise .................................................................................................................... 14Modesty............................................................................................................................................ 15Optimism ......................................................................................................................................... 16Be Heard .......................................................................................................................................... 16Ready, Set… ..................................................................................................................................... 17Talk With, Not At ............................................................................................................................ 17Judge the Judge ................................................................................................................................ 17Eye Meet You ................................................................................................................................... 18Probe-and-Hook is Not Hocus-Pocus .............................................................................................. 18Sentimentality .................................................................................................................................. 19Stay on Topic ................................................................................................................................... 19Make Perfect ..................................................................................................................................... 19Advice from Recent Decathletes ....................................................................................................... 20

Making Things Up ........................................................................................................ 21Practice Interview Questions .......................................................................................... 22

50 More Traditional Interview Questions ......................................................................................... 22Academic Decathlon: The Competition ........................................................................................ 22Academic Decathlon: The Preparation .......................................................................................... 22School and Extracurricular Activities ............................................................................................. 22Post-Secondary Education Plans .................................................................................................... 23Long-Term Goals .......................................................................................................................... 23


Values ............................................................................................................................................ 23Important Figures and Role Models .............................................................................................. 23Life Outside of School ................................................................................................................... 23Extras ............................................................................................................................................ 24

50 Much Less Traditional Interview Questions ................................................................................ 24Controversial Issues ....................................................................................................................... 24Up Close and Personal ................................................................................................................... 24Thought-Provokers ........................................................................................................................ 24Random Challenges ....................................................................................................................... 25

Memoirs of an Interview Judge ...................................................................................... 26Case 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 26Case 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 26The Upshot ...................................................................................................................................... 27

About the Authors ......................................................................................................... 28

by Greta Baranowski

Arizona State University Mesa – Mountain View High School ‘04

Daniel Berdichevsky Harvard University M.P.P.

Stanford University B.A. & M.A.

For Flint, who would have made a fine mascot—if he’d existed.

DemiDec and Scholar’s Cup are registered trademarks of the DemiDec Corporation. Academic Decathlon and USAD are registered trademarks of the United States Academic Decathlon Association. DemiDec is not officially affiliated with the United States Academic Decathlon Association.


Preface: Meet the Judges The interview is like a first date. It’s all about making a good

impression.1 Listen carefully. Look confident. Be genuine. Don’t dominate the conversation—and, if you’re going after lunch, make sure

you don’t have any food smeared on your face.

Many teams prepare less for the interview than for any of the other events. What a lost opportunity! The interview is by far the most coachable event. Along with impromptu, it’s also one where a little practice makes a big difference. Sure, some Decathletes can succeed in the interview without practice—they’re naturals—but nearly all Decathletes can succeed with practice.

Even someone with limited English or with a sparse resume can consistently score above 800 with enough practice (and feedback) under simulated competition conditions. Imagine if you spent as much time practicing for the interview as you do reading your curriculum booklets. That might be overkill, but try for at least thirty minutes a week—that’s four interviews and change. You should never tire of talking about yourself to anyone willing to listen.

You’ll need to find suitable judges. The more often you can be interviewed by people who don’t know you, the better. Other teachers, your teammates’ parents, former Decathletes, members of the PTA, and local service club members are all great candidates. Even your coaches and teammates are much better than no interviewer at all.

In this resource, you’ll find general interview tips, others specific to Decathlon, personal anecdotes, and a list of likely questions.

Want the Cram Kit version? Easy: be sincere and friendly, confident but never arrogant. The judges want to get to know you, not your idea of who you think they want to get to know. You may need to polish how you come across, but you should never worry about changing who you are beneath that polish.

Whenever you tire of practicing, remember that when asked what event has helped them the most in “real life” many Decathlon alumni choose this one. Interviews are unavoidable. They’re a vital part of applying to college, winning scholarships, getting a job, and running for public office. And they really are good practice for dating—especially for meeting a significant other’s parents. So listen to Greta for the next few pages, then go talk about yourself and make some new friends.

Daniel Berdichevsky

1 For some less scrupulous decathletes, it’s about making up a good impression.

The event, it is a’changing For years, a benefit of the interview event has been that it prepares Decathletes for future college and job interviews. You learn how to prepare a resume and how to keep calm as you walk into a room for an unpredictable dialogue with three strangers. Over time, though, USAD has been making the event less like other interviews-----removing résumés and, now, recommending all interviews be held simultaneously in the same large room. You should find out if your regional or state competition has implemented ‘‘arena interviews’’-----and prepare accordingly. For example, you probably won’t want to project your voice in quite the same way if someone else is interviewing a few feet away at another table.


The Rubric and Résumé You wouldn’t study for math without checking the outline to see

how many geometry questions there will be. In exactly the same way, for the interview you’ll want to look over the “rubric” used at most

Decathlon competitions to determine your score.

The interviewers will have these categories and percentages in mind when they assess you:

CATEGORIES IMPORTANT ELEMENTS POINTS % OF TOTAL SCORE

voice projection volume, directness, flexibility, appropriateness 10-150 15%

non-verbal language movement, rapport, gesture, appearance, involvement 10-150 15%

language usage grammar, enunciation, appropriateness 10-150 15%

listening skills appropriateness of responses, attentiveness 10-150 15%

answering skills skill in answering questions, clarity and completeness 10-200 20%

overall effectiveness achievement of purpose, interest, reception 10-200 20%

Note that how you answer matters as much if not more than what you actually say.

The Résumé

In many states, the interview now includes a résumé, either submitted before competition or handed to the judge when you arrive in your interview room. Some states still use so-called activity sheets (a sort of stripped-down résumé), but these work in basically the same way. However, more and more states are discontinuing the use of any résumés at all, making the event exclusively about generic questions.2

There are entire websites (and Idiot’s Guides) devoted to résumé-making, but here are a few starter tips. Make sure it is easy for judges to skim. Bold the words you want them to see.

You want to put your name at the top. For a real résumé, you would add your address and number.3 If you like, you can put some sort of general statement about your life goals—mine went a little like this: “I plan to attend Arizona State University, attain a master’s degree in English literature, and teach high school English.” It’s just a general statement of what I see myself doing in life, and it provides a nice segue into a conversation about my goals. Yes, it sort of gave away that I was from Arizona. But you never know: I might have been from a nearby state, or a New Yorker starved for sunlight and bikinis.

After that, you want to have a few categories of things you’ve done. Some standard ones are Activities, Awards, Work Experience, and Volunteer Experiences. But these are flexible. If there’s something you really want to talk about in an interview, make a category for it. This is your best chance to steer the conversation, so write things down that you can—and really want to—talk about. Then, bold and underline them for good measure (tastefully.)

2 In some states, judges are strictly limited in terms of which questions they can ask—making it even easier to prepare. 3 This can be tricky, because, at some competitions, judges are told to penalize you 100 points if you mention your school or—at the national level—state. This is meant to prevent bias. In some states, this rule is no longer official, but it’s still good to keep in mind. You want your judges to see you as a person, not as just another Granada Hills or Rockwall Decathlete.


Don’t put anything on there that you’re not interested in speaking on for at least a minute. One of the girls on my team did some filing work at an insurance company for a few weeks one summer and put it on her Decathlon résumé. When asked about it, she had nothing to say—it was just an awful job, a way to earn a few bucks. The résumé should not be a laundry list of your experiences. You have just seven minutes to be the most eloquent, interesting, likeable person you can be—so make it easy for everyone and think carefully about what should go on your résumé. And, for goodness’s sake, don’t forget what’s on it. Nothing comes across worse than you not knowing your own life story4.

It’s better to be specific than to generalize. Don’t say you were in orchestra—say you were first cellist. And don’t be afraid of putting something weird on your résumé, as long as you can explain it quickly and clearly. Unusual things will probably be asked about more often than more common things like National Honor Society. Think about this from a judge’s point of view. He has been talking with decathletes all day, and most of them have the exact same stuff on their résumés. If he hears another touching story about volunteering at a food bank with the National Honor Society, he’ll start tearing his hair out. Then you come in, and, why, what’s this? Your résumé says you lived in South Africa for six months with your zoologist father! That’s different! Right there, you’ve got his interest in a major way.

For those of us who haven’t lived in South Africa, don’t despair. Everyone has something interesting to talk about. One of my teammates was the state karate champion; another was the lead singer of a local rock band; a third loved quantum physics. I used to answer fan mail for a fantasy novelist. Just start thinking about your life and your experiences. Some good stuff can be done through creative rephrasing5 (you didn’t rake leaves for your neighbor; you started your own lawn care company!), but most of it comes from looking back at what you’ve done with an eye for the stories you enjoy telling.

Let’s have a look at a couple of sample résumés. The one on the left is the one you should scorn, while the one on the right should be your guide. The main differences are:

Specificity—the résumé to the right is very specific about the decathlete’s interests. For instance, instead of “art” it lists landscape painting. The résumé to the left would be much stronger if, instead of “sports”, it cited a particular sport—in this case, basketball.

Personality—phrases such as “scavenger hunts” hint at the student’s personality, suggesting she is playful and maybe even adventurous. In stark contrast, the résumé to the left feels bland and serious. Like I said before, judges see more résumés than they know what to do with, and they can tell when something is mass-produced or not thought-out. They’re staring at these resumes as you walk in hoping to find something interesting to ask you about. Give them something.

4 This happened to one of my teammates, Mike, who asked his judges, “Wait, is that really on my resume?” – Daniel 5 If you want to go with creative rephrasing, you’d better be able to back it up with a creative explanation of everything you did and how it affected you. More on this later. – Greta

RÉSUMÉ #1 RÉSUMÉ #2

IInntteerreessttss Interestsmusic landscape painting sports basketball television Wikipedia computers scavenger hunts

AAccttiivviittiieess ActivitiesHonors Club painter�s guild Academic Decathlon Rainbow Club National Honor Society cartoonist�school paper track team World Scholar’s Cup World Scholar’s Cup volunteer�animal shelter


Thread of coherency—without being repetitive, the résumé to the right threads the theme of art through many activities and interests. The decathlete can link being a cartoonist to a career in landscape painting—Claude Monet, she might note, began as a caricaturist and became the Father of Impressionism. Thus, the Artist’s Guild provides her with a forum in which to share and advance her art, and Wikipedia allows her to absorb new knowledge to inspire her. This is a great tactic. Try to pick out one or two major traits or activities and have several things relate back to them. On my own résumé, I said I wanted to major in literature and teach English. Then I added that I answered fan mail for a novelist and that I had been published in my school’s literary magazine. The judges could not escape the fact that I love literature and writing.

Brevity—both these résumés are about the right length. Much longer than this, and judges will no longer be able to separate the specific from the soporific. Remember, judges don’t get to scan your résumés for more than a few seconds. If it’s too long, they may not even get to the end. Things need to jump out at them. It will also help you know what questions to expect. Note that to save space, the résumé on the right omits Academic Decathlon as an activity, since it goes without saying that the student is involved in Decathlon.

Test your résumé on panels of practice judges, just to make sure that things are clear and interesting. You’ll quickly learn which activities lead in a good direction. Refine your resume accordingly.

Don’t neglect the order of placement of activities on the sheet. Believe it or not, things listed near that top and the bottom are more likely to generate questions than those in the middle. It’s just the way minds process information, especially under time pressure: from the edges in.

One decathlete we know listed only two items on his résumé, gambling his answers about them would be so exciting the judges wouldn’t count the thin résumé against him. For him, the gamble paid off—he was the scholastic gold medalist in California—but, in general, we recommend listing more than he did. List enough to make yourself interesting, and little enough to have a sense of what you’ll be asked.

Generally, a good length for a résumé is about three-quarters of a page.

Religion on the Résumé

Your interests and activities might include or even center on your religious affiliation—often in the form of involvement in church youth groups. These are admirable parts of a portfolio, especially in a country where faith-based initiatives have widespread support. Don’t hide them. However, do be careful to come across as open-minded and well-rounded, with a broad array of interests, possibly even in learning more about other faiths. One good tactic is to tie any religious activity to something beyond your faith: yes, you work at your church’s thrift store, but it’s really taught you about the realities of working life, and you’ve encountered people of all backgrounds as clients.

Pare Down the Paragraphs

Avoid paragraphs of text on your resume—judges’ eyes will glaze over them. Stick with bullet points. Your resume should be a Cram Kit, not a Resource.


Dress, Appearance, and Demeanor

The better you look, the better you’ll feel. The better you feel, the better you’ll score. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that how you look is on

the scoring rubric.

Dress and Appearance: To a T

Unless you are told differently by your coach, you should always wear a suit to a competition interview6. If you can’t get a suit, be as close to a suit as possible—for guys, this should be at least a dress shirt with a tie and nice slacks. For girls, this should probably be a plain dark skirt (or dark pants) and a button-up shirt. A suit is really a good way to go, though, and it’s something that you are sure to need for non-Decathlon activities at some point7. Think of it as an investment.

This is where it gets a bit tricky, because dress standards are a bit different for guys and girls. Guys, you probably want to go with a nice, conservative black or navy blue suit with a white shirt and businesslike tie. If you feel a need to wear a colored rather than white shirt and you have validation from others that it looks great on you, go for it. But I would recommend against wearing black or other very dark dress shirts under suits; on most people, it just doesn’t look professional or clean-cut. Find some nice dress shoes to go with your ensemble.

Girls, you have a few more grey areas to negotiate. It probably won’t matter whether you wear a skirt-suit or pantsuit. You probably want some nice, solid color blouse under your suit jacket—don’t go too outrageous, but don’t feel like you necessarily have to stick with white shirts. There are a lot of really awesome, cute pastel suits out there—DON’T wear them to Decathlon meets. You want to appear as businesslike and professional as possible, so wear black, dark blue, brown, etc. Oh, and on a completely stupid note that’s going to make most of you think I’m too concerned with appearance: if you use makeup, find a middle ground. You want to appear professional, but not too dramatic. Judges do tend to like the “natural” and confident look.

For everyone, hair is important. Boys, if you’re going to get your hair cut before a competition, do it about a week before the actual competition so that it isn’t so apparent that you just cut your hair. Short, neat hair is better than shaggy hair for guys—though, of course, times are changing, and longer hair seems more common every year. For girls, make sure you don’t have to touch your hair during the interview. Don’t push it back behind your ear, don’t sweep it off your face, etc. Do something with it that will stay put, like a ponytail or a bun. Also for both genders, basic hygiene is always a good call. Use deodorant, brush your teeth, make sure your hands are clean. These little things make a huge difference in the impression you leave your judges.

Why dress up for the interview? Why be clean-shaven, nicely dressed, and well-scrubbed? It sends the impression that you care about this interview. If you went to all that trouble to find a suit, shine your

6 I recently made a new beige suit in Thailand. I’ve been told it’s vaguely Miami Vice. – Daniel 7 Live in Los Angeles? Stop by my dad’s suit store. He outfitted my team, though somehow I ended up in purple. – Daniel


shoes, and get a haircut, you’re obviously taking all of this very seriously. Bonus points. Secondly, in some cases it’s a matter of expectation and first impressions. Judges are used to interviewees dressing a certain way, and you want their first impression to be “wow, this kid has it together.” Perhaps most importantly, I guarantee you that you will feel better in a suit. It will boost your confidence and self-esteem8.

Consider Dean Schaffer, who lost about 20 points in appearance at the California state competition—and took second place overall individual at the competition by just 12 points. He still grouches about it. You should look better than Dean did—and he looked pretty good.

The Handshake: Don’t Shake Them Up

It may appear ridiculous to devote this much of a page to a simple greeting, but never underestimate the value of a good handshake. Many decathletes have cold, clammy hands by the time they enter the interview. Others are so nervous that they wrench their judges’ arms out of their sockets. It is not good to begin an interview by disabling your judge. Says Michael Kim: “As a favor to sufferers of arthritis everywhere, I offer the suggestion that genuine warmth and thoughtfulness will earn more points than showing off over-developed forearm strength. Be gentle and firm.” Items to consider:

Wet hands—little is worse than shaking a wet hand. Be sure to dry them in your pockets, or in a bathroom. Do this before entering the interview room—don’t wipe them against your pants as you approach the judges.

Cold hands—I always had this problem. My teammates and coaches would rub my hands, I would rub my own hands and even sit on them before my interview—all to no avail9. It’s tough. Basically, though, you just have to keep trying—few things are more distracting than an ice-cold handshake. Rub your hands together as much as you need to, and take a few deep breaths. When I was less tense, my hands got noticeably warmer.

Don’t be sexist—most panels of judges are of mixed gender. Don’t shake the hands of the men with noticeably more strength and/or gusto than you do those of the women10. It sometimes shocks observers to watch a boy swagger into the interview room, grab a male judge’s hand and squeeze it bloodless, than take a female judge’s hand and barely brush it with their fingernails. Find a good middle ground. Be genuine. And if you’re female yourself, don’t restrain yourself—better to impress with a formidable handshake than to aim for genteel and achieve dainty.

Use medium pressure—I’ve noticed some people, afraid of squashing judges’ hands, overcompensate by going completely limp. Both these extremes are not anywhere near as good as the middle ground: you want to have enough pressure that your judge thinks you are sincere, but not so much that you leave him or her stinging. This comes with practice, so don’t be afraid to shake hands, in the days before a competition, with your teammates, coaches, parents, significant other, and anyone else you can find. Ask them for feedback. It’s geeky but helpful.

8 It can boost test scores, too. 9 Try picking up some hand warmers at the ski supply store. – Daniel 10 Then again, some decathletes from more conservative communities have written in suggesting that this is sometimes appropriate and even anticipated at their own competitions. – Greta


Don’t look at the hand—instead, as you shake hands, gaze into the other person’s eyes. Make it an occasion to begin bonding, not a routine formality. Also, make sure you smile! Some people like to say something like “Hi, it’s great to meet you!” while shaking their judges’ hands. This may or may not work for you. As with everything else, you need to think about what is going to fit with your personality. Someone more formal might begin with, “Thank you, sir.”

Remember the second handshake—your goal should be to make sure that by the end of the interview, the judges want to shake your hand a second time. You can tell this by the warmth and softness of their touch. Authentic handshakes mold in a way that the automatic kind do not.

Take your time—the handshake is an opportunity to exploit, not a routine to rush through. The clock’s not running yet, so don’t shortchange a good first impression. Introduce yourself one judge at a time.

Shaking etiquette—often, it’s better to let those older than you initiate a handshake. Keep this in mind. If the first judge offers you his or her hand, rather than waiting for you to offer yours, you can probably expect the others to do the same.

Handshakes can improve—don’t give up just because someone tells you you’ve got a weak grip. My first coach told me, “You shake hands like a girl” in front of all my classmates. Today, I know girls shake hands just fine, but as a fifteen year-old I didn’t take it so well—and soon after that I quit Decathlon altogether. A year later, with a different coach, I got better—in fact, I overcompensated, and for a long time I probably hurt people when I shook their hands.

Say Cheese to Collect 100 Points

Many decathletes enter the interview with fear and a sweaty brow; others, with so much confidence they come across as arrogant. Avoid both extremes; you want to be confident, but not cocky.

You want to make sure your judges feel you like them and you genuinely want to be there with them. This begins with a smile. Not a pursed, sober smile, either. We mean an easy curve of the lips, a sparkle in your eyes. It’s hard to fake. But it’ll come more naturally once you feel comfortable talking about yourself and what’s on your resume.

Mike Kim urges you to “smile at all times, except when very inappropriate. If you’re asked about the tragic situation of starving children in Rwanda, don’t let your judges catch you grinning ear-to-ear.” You should probably also moderate your smile when discussing serious issues of policy or philosophy, even if there are no starving children involved. But, generally, smile as much as you (naturally) can. Smile when you pause to think, or while listening to the judge asking a question. Smile broadly when you’re talking about something that excites you. And, of course, don’t always smile the exact same way—once again, be natural and genuine. Vary your expression based on what you would normally do in conversation. Some people don’t smile, and if that’s you, okay. You can make up for it in other ways, like using your voice.

Shaumo Says…Early on, I had trouble breaking 850 in interview. No matter how hard I tried, I failed to reach my goal of consistently reaching 900. Then, I realized something. My preparation had been focused only on content—on saying the right thing. I had failed to grasp the importance of presentation. Once I began to work on voice, gestures, movement, and overall rapport, my scores jumped into the 925 range. Some decathletes have the opposite problem. They concentrate on presentation at the expense of substance. Remember to work on both.


Have you ever heard someone say that a real smile brings out the twinkle in your eyes, and that you can spot a fake smile because it is restrained to the lips? This is kind of true, unless you’re a good actor. If you’re like most people, to make your smiles truly genuine you’ll actually need to enjoy the interview. Fake smiles tend to make you look like the stereotypical beauty pageant contestant11. So don’t think you can fool judges with a show of teeth.

You’ll find that once you loosen up your interview style, the smile comes naturally. No matter what kind of person you are—intellectual, athletic, energetic, non-conformist—you can be happy, too. But, if you’re tense and nervous, your smile is going to look tense and nervous (and fake), not natural and real. In my first interview, I was so nervous that I could hardly speak, and, even though I smiled a lot, it was always a nervous smile that said, “Please, please take pity on me and like me!” I scored poorly. In my next interview, though, I relaxed and really talked to my judges rather than trying to play some sort of elaborate interview game with them, and I really, truly smiled. I scored 1000.

A smiling decathlete will be such a change of pace for the judges, who have dealt with a series of tremulous, sad-looking students, that you will almost definitely notice a jump in your score. The fact is that everyone is nervous, to some degree. The trick is not to let that nervousness get in the way of you being yourself. Just relax a little and let your real personality come out.

Posture: Straight as an Arrow

Your want your whole body to look attentive and enthused. Postures for this are different for different people, and often for guys and girls. In general, aim for stability and accessibility. Don’t shift your position frequently, and never lean back away from the judges. Make sure you’re not slumping—it gives the impression you don’t care or that you’re arrogant.

Posture is another way to communicate to the judges the central thesis of your interview: you are pleased to be there with them and this conversation really matters to you.

Most likely, you will be in a chair, with nowhere to conceal your legs and your feet. Keep them symmetrical, and don’t let your toes squirm. Some people find crossing one leg on top of the other is effective for them, but most often, we recommend keeping both legs forward, slightly parted, with feet near or flat on the ground. Girls may want to consider crossing their legs at the ankles instead, but, again, go with what looks and feels natural for you.

To grasp all the niceties of posture, you may wish to consider arranging for a series of snapshots or a video of your interview. See what you look like—and see if you like it. I guarantee you you’ll be surprised at what you see. It’s enlightening beyond belief to see what your hand gestures, expressions and postures actually look like to other people12.

Don’t Gesture like a Jester

Most advice regarding gestures carries over from speech to interview—though you will probably want to mute somewhat your wilder swoops of fancy. A few pointers:

11 Which, nowadays, could lead to becoming mayor and then running for vice president. 12 Watching a video of an interview I did at the World Scholar’s Cup, I discovered I can come across as wooden as Al Gore, before he won an Oscar. – Daniel


The interview is a conversation—your gestures should be similar to the natural motions of your hands and body in daily conversations with your family and peers.

Gesture with your whole body—watch your friends as they talk to you. No one moves just a hand while saying something. People incline their entire bodies, twist their shoulders, lift eyebrows, nod and shake their heads, and tilt their faces (the degree to which they do this varies from culture to culture). Just don’t sway back and forth or tremble. Anything else is fair game.

Swoops and circular motions are better than linear movements—as a general rule, avoid drawing jagged lines and diagonals with your hands. Try to roll them forward instead of jutting them. Picture an invisible orb around which your hands are unfolding, and always remember that curves look graceful instead of abrupt.

Think about what your gestures draw attention to—This seems silly, but watch what you’re doing with those hands. Video is a huge help here. If your gestures are too low—below about elbow level—judges will be looking there instead of at your face. This leads to them not paying as much attention to what you’re saying. In general, unless you are making a specific point, bring your gestures up just a little, as long as it still looks natural.

Don’t underestimate the shrug and rolled eyes—shrugs and eye-rolls are wonderful, casual whole-body gestures which can be made to look alert, inquisitive and light-hearted. But only at the appropriate moments—don’t use them in a way that makes it look like you’re dismissing something important.

Relax—you shouldn’t be gesturing actively from beginning to end. Let your instincts guide you. Sometimes, for dramatic impact, just clasp your hands and speak. Don’t think that you need to put on some kind of interpretive dance; just be yourself and gesture the amount you would in any other conversation. Anything else will look forced.


The Eight Basic Questions Almost every interview will steer around two focal points. The first (assuming your competition uses one) is your résumé—which you’ve

rewritten by now with attention to originality, specificity, and intrigue. The second is a list of standard questions that judges receive to help

them conduct their interviews. At competitions which don’t use resumes, the basic questions are more important than ever.

Though questions vary from place to place, they tend to cover eight basic question types. These include:

The Competition—Expect to be asked what you find the most challenging or interesting event, what you would change about Decathlon if you could, and what you’ve learned. This may also include curriculum-based questions, such as asking you your favorite art piece.

Preparing for Acadec—Why did you join the program? How did you and your team prepare? What will you remember most about it? This is a good chance to show off your sentimental side or to relate a funny tale.

School and Extra-Curricular Activities—What are your favorite subjects? What do you do at school besides study and eat lunch? Of course, everyone can answer “Academic Decathlon”—but look for something unique that opens a path to talking about other topics important to you. Judges will usually use your resume as a way to start a conversation about your activities—like, “I see you’re involved in Speech and Debate. Tell us more about that.”

Post-Secondary Education Plans—Do you plan to attend a college or university? If so, which ones are you thinking of? If not, why not? Will you join the army? Go on a religious mission? Do community service for a year? Give good reasons for each of these answers—and avoid the generic, I’m going to college, but I’m not sure which one or what to major in spiel. Look for answers that lead back to the less abstract you of the present—your activities, interests, and goals.

Long-term Goals—What is your career goal? Why? Don’t be afraid of expressing indecision regarding these points. Judges don’t mind hearing you admit that you don’t yet know enough to pre-determine your profession and course of studies. A little humility about the future goes a long way. Feel free to share with them your dreams—of becoming an actress, or a poet, or a doctor—qualified with your realization that these dreams may be difficult to realize.

Values—What do you admire about other people? Which values have most influenced you? Did they belong to your parents or to your peers or to some blog on the Internet? Cite concrete examples. If you decide to use a tried-and-true quality such as honesty, admit up front that you know it’s probably been said before.

Influential figures and role models—Judges may ask you for the person who has most influenced you, the person you most resemble, a fictional character who’s had an impact on you—there are lots of variations, but the key is to choose a figure, be it your grandfather or Thomas Edison, and to justify him or her with vivid, likeable reasons. Don’t just rattle off his or her accomplishments, either; describe his or her personal qualities.


Life Outside of School—The judges want to know if you lead a full life beyond your studies and extracurricular activities. What do you do in the evening? on weekends? over the summer? Do you volunteer at hospitals, spend quality time with your mother, play in a Frisbee league? Anything is fair game. Remember you want to appear interesting and open-minded. By no means do you want to admit that you sometimes lie around and just watch television, unless you do so with a wry smile and admit you’re trying to kick the habit.

Of course, not all questions fall into the Basic Eight. Some judges may challenge you with a surprise that calls on you to think quickly. Questions of this type may include references to odd enigmas, to recent news events or to the totally-out-of-the-blue.

Odd enigmas—“Why are manhole covers round?”, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”, and the classic, “Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?”

Political and social issues—“Do you believe evolution should be taught in schools?” and “How do you feel about the war in Iraq?” In my experience, these types of questions are less common. Judges don’t want their prejudices about controversial issues to color the process of scoring your interview, and they don’t want to spend seven minutes arguing with you. Still, it’s good to keep up with culture and the news: it’ll strengthen your interview if you can allude to current events in your answers.

The totally-out-of-the-blue—“What is the one question you least expect us to ask you in this interview?” or “What would you like to ask us, the judges?”

For questions like this, we recommend taking a moment to collect your thoughts before answering. Whatever you do, don’t begin a sentence, stammer, change your mind, and start over. If you do need to restart, smile and acknowledge it: “Well, let me try that again.” Don’t do this more than once, though. Feel free to restate the question as if it were the impromptu event. Remember, you don’t need to be eloquent—just clear, conversational and decisive.

Later in this resource, we provide a long list of both common and more eccentric interview questions.

But he was a good traitor.In a practice interview, my coach once asked me to identify my role model. I’d played a lot of Civil War games as a kid, so said, confidently, ‘‘Robert E. Lee.’’ The judges were surprised. One, probably noting that I wasn’t wearing a flag pin, asked why I had chosen Lee. I answered, realizing I’d dug myself into a hole, ‘‘Because he was willing to betray his personal beliefs about slavery and the Union to help his friends and his home state of Virginia.’’ I’m sure there were answers I could have come up with to save the situation; that was not one of them.


Responding to Questions A classy suit, great posture, warm handshake, refined résumé,

perfect smile and spectacular gestures can still come to nothing—if you don’t deliver on the promise of your appearance with good

responses to the judges’ questions.

To a certain extent, you can use the Basic Eight Question types to prepare your answers. There are some decathletes who memorize a little speech on each probable topic, so that during the interview they can recite their responses. Some people swear by this. I think it makes you sound robotic—or too slick, like the proverbial car salesman.

That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t practice many, many possible questions. Choose a favorite art piece, a music selection, and so on. Think about the curriculum theme and how it relates to each subject area. Finally, move on to yourself and think about your activities, goals, and where you see your life going. Brainstorm some funny anecdotes about friends, Decathlon, or family.

Go through your resume and ask yourself four things about each activity or job:

1. Why did you get involved with it?

2. What’s one interesting anecdote related to it?

3. What is a challenge you’ve experienced related to it? (This can overlap with #2.)

4. What does it say about you, and how does it relate to your other interests or goals?

Once you know what’s on our resume, shaping responses to specific questions about it will be easier.

Take Them by Surprise

Don’t be afraid to say something unusual, something your judges haven’t heard before. Naturally, there are some limitations on this: don’t say something blatantly insensitive or politically incorrect, like, “Joseph Stalin is my role model because he was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians.” Basically, don’t say anything to the judges that you wouldn’t share with your parents’ coworkers13 or a college interviewer.

Aside from that, there’s no wrong answer to any question, as long as you can explain and justify it. If you genuinely think that Heart of Darkness was the wrong choice of novel to represent all of imperial literature, say so—and propose what you would have chosen instead. (Perhaps Things Fall Apart? Or something by an Indian author?) If you think the most pressing issue in our country today is the rise of the Tea Party, explain what you mean by that.

In my experience, it’s easy to bore your judges with answers to questions like “Which music selection do you like best and why?” However, there’s one simple trick to answering them: Make your answers relate back to yourself. Okay, so Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is your favorite music piece. Now, don’t just go on and on about how it changed the genre of the symphony with its revolutionary plot—smile and

13 Depending on your relationship with your parents’ coworkers (or whether they have any) this may not always be an accurate barometer of appropriateness, but hopefully you understand what I mean. – Greta


admit that, well, you mainly just like it because of the awesome bassoon solo in the middle. As a bassoonist yourself, you love that the instrument is spotlighted—and you’re so impressed by the player’s talent; you wish you had that kind of skill! Judges will have heard so many technical explanations and restatements of the USAD resource that your personal insight will be a breath of fresh air. Besides, you’ve just furthered the ultimate purpose of the interview, which is to allow your judges to get to know who you are and what you care about.

Be as original as you can without lying or putting on a false front. There’s just no need for anything that drastic. Say what you mean, and don’t be afraid to be funny or different—while still being respectful.

Modesty

As a successful student with the stamina to read seventeen pages of a guide to the Interview, you may think of yourself as someone of remarkable academic caliber, with mighty aspirations and a special intelligence that has chaperoned you from one success to the next. Under pressure, you may instinctively, even defensively, flaunt your achievements—taking on a declarative voice and selling yourself long.

It’s human nature to want to impress; even a well-meant response can carry the baggage of a heavy ego, or be perceived that way. For example—suppose you were asked what qualities you admire. Many people might answer honesty or courage or faith. These are all fine answers, particularly if explained briefly and with specific reasons.

However, one student in Texas, wanting to be original, said something like:

“I value people who exhibit visionary thinking. In the world, there are many people who are honest or caring. These people may be first class citizens—but when it comes down to it, they aren’t the ones who change the world. People with vision change humanity for the better because they come up with revolutionary ways of thinking. Albert Einstein’s theories altered the way we view the universe. Mahatma Gandhi realized that people could achieve their goals through nonviolent protest. Steve Jobs invented a computer anyone could use. These people are great because they had more vision than everyone else.”

There’s plenty of meat to the answer, but it’s dangerously abstract and, worse, actually dismisses being honest and caring. With answers like this one, beware of sounding snobbish. Is changing the world really what matters most to you?

The moral of the story: always qualify answers that may come off as arrogant. If you’re going to say the people of small town America cling to their churches or their guns—well, there’s not much you can say to qualify that one, except maybe redefine “cling” as something positive.

Suppose you were asked what event was the most difficult for you. Many people would respond Mathematics or Super Quiz—especially now that Super Quiz covers all the subjects. Don’t be afraid, however, to admit to weakness in Speech and even Interview—though this, too, gets old after a while for the judges, unless you offer it with the right blend of authenticity and vulnerability.


Optimism

Don’t let the pressure of competition flag down your spirits. Judges want to meet the young people of America whose positive, can-do-attitudes will make the world a better sort of place, less dependent on Middle Eastern oil and scrubbed clean and shiny. Avoid appearing depressed or pessimistic.

One national champion team liked to emphasize two particular positive qualities in interviews (though there are certainly many more that would also fit the bill):

A Sense of Perspective—Even the worst problems of today will seem more manageable tomorrow. A sense of perspective means we distinguish between the terrible and the trivial. Some problems—like a bad meal, or one poor grade—just don’t merit anguish, unless that bad meal gave you food poisoning, or that grade cost you a scholarship. Others—like poverty, or a dying parent—loom large no matter what. A sense of perspective, in short, is a more mature version of hakuna matata: “Only worries that really matter.”

A Sense of the Prospective—If we work for it, the future will be better than the present. We must never assume we’ve already lived our best moments, seen our brightest sunsets, or cherished our most champion joys14. You don’t have to be Ronald Reagan, but you shouldn’t be a doomsayer either.

Optimistic answers may help to give judges a moment of hope. Hope scores points even better than it wins votes.

Be Heard

What you say only counts if you can say it in a “legible voice”—one judges can understand without concentrating too much. As a general rule, speak slightly louder than in a normal conversation. Never mumble. Decathletes with soft voices should speak more loudly than they usually would, and those with booming voices should do the opposite. It’s generally better to err on the side of being too loud.

Judges usually give telltale signs during an interview if they can’t hear you well enough. They may lean forward in their chairs or put a hand up to one ear. They may doze off. Look for these signals and adjust the loudness of your voice accordingly.

When thinking about your voice you should keep the following in mind:

Enunciate—Make each word distinct from the one that follows and precedes it—even if at first this means inserting an artificial pause between them. Don’t let the ends of your sentences die away—something we often do in normal conversation because we expect others to interrupt us. This is true on two levels: in terms of volume, fight the urge to get softer as you finish your thought. In terms of content, don’t end a sentence with a trailing-off “so… yeah” or something like that. Finish your thought as strongly as you started it; finish with an actual period.

Pace yourself—You don’t need to speak at the same speed throughout the interview, but you should never chatter too quickly, or drone on with no momentum. If you feel yourself talking too quickly, breathe more often—not after every word, but whenever you end a phrase.

14 The team also sometimes mentioned a sense of the prescriptive, or knowing when to prescribe and/or accept advice.


Vary your tone—As in the speech, some students who can hold their own in casual conversation turn into zombies in a formal setting. Remember the word “monotonous” comes from the term “monotone.” Make sure to vary your inflection when appropriate. Be excited when you talk about exciting things, sad when you talk about sad things, etc.

Resonate—Speak from your chest, not through your nose. Try emulating people and political figures who demonstrate this quality. You can find audio clips of Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Franklin Roosevelt and many other great speakers online. Also, when you sit down to be interviewed, gauge the distance from you to the walls. You may not be a bat, but you’ll adjust automatically to the acoustic environment.

Activities for working on all of the above are included in the Prepared Speech Resource.

In practice interviews, pay attention to comments people give you about words you overuse or say weirdly—in general, just become conscious of your speech and your mannerisms. Also, figure out your favorite filler words—“um”, “ahh”, “like”, “y’know”, etc.—and try to use them as little as possible.

Ready, Set…

It’s not a bad idea to pause before answering a question. It lets the judges know that you’re really in this conversation, and that you’re giving them answers, not canned responses. So feel free to take a second or two to collect your thoughts before beginning to speak, even if you already have an answer in mind. Don’t take too much longer than that, lest judges think you’ve fallen asleep or lost interest. Don’t pause like this for every question, but doing it sometimes can communicate to the judges that you are thoughtful and contemplative.

Talk With, Not At

Talk with your judges. Don’t talk at them (or without them, by holding a long, confused internal dialogue out loud). Remain aware not only of your answers but also of their responses and what most intrigues them. Effective communication requires that all parties both listen and contribute. If a judge seems especially intrigued by something, go into detail. If a judge seems to be nodding off, look in his or her direction. Make clear that you feel connected.

Judge the Judge

From the moment you enter the interviewing room, the judges are judging you—examining your work, assessing your handshake and gauging your command of the situation. Don’t become a passive party to all this. Instead, judge the judges. Look at their facial expressions, at their clothing, at their ages, at anything that might tell you what kind of people they are.

You may want to vary your approach accordingly. For example, some judges, especially older ones, or former military, may like students to be very formal. Others will be in the mood to laugh—so humor them by sharing funny anecdotes. Some judges may seem “grandmotherly”—in which case you want

Where do judges come from? At the 2011 national competition, USAD asked a temp agency to hire all the speech and interview judges. You could surmise that the judges were less likely to be the older, more conservative retirees typical of competition volunteers and more likely to be down-on-their-luck underemployed members of the labor force. Find out where your judges are coming from-----not because you want to be a different person depending on your audience, but because it helps you know in advance what to emphasize and how they might react.


them to come away wishing you were their grandchild. 15 If they are business-like, you want to come across as a good prospective employee, someone they would hire. And so forth. Don’t adjust your behavior too much, but be mindful of your audience. It’s dishonest to tell people what they want to hear, but it’s more legitimate to tell them what you want to say in the way that they want to hear it.

Pay attention to signals your judges are sending you about their reactions to your answers. Are they bored? Is your answer going on a bit too long for them? Are they hanging on your every word? Did they laugh at your joke? All of these little signals will help you gauge how much to loosen up with them and what they will respond to.

Eye Meet You

Like the speech, interview presents you the challenge of making eye contact with an awkward number of people—usually three. When speaking to a single individual you can look into his or her eyes, then away again, back and forth, and no one will fault you. When speaking to a large audience, you can gaze ateveryone without looking into any one person. With three judges, however, you’ve got to glance from one to the next. Many decathletes instinctively focus on the judge in the middle. This is all right, so long as you apportion enough eye contact to each of the other judges, too. However, don’t swivel your head back and forth all the time. Instead, look at one judge while making one specific point. Then, switch to the next one for your next point. Give each person the impression that you have a steady gaze.

Whichever judge asks you a question should be the one you look at as you begin that answer. If one judge looks friendlier than the others, finish your answers by making eye contact with him or her. This is more likely to lead to his or her asking the next question. Or, if you like, it’s also good to end your answer by looking back to the judge who asked the question in the first place; it lends a nice feeling of closure.

Don’t ever look down at your feet (though you may occasionally want to glance downward, demurely or with a headshake, for effect.) Similarly, the walls and ceiling of the room are not scoring you, so don’t look at them either.

Probe-and-Hook is Not Hocus-Pocus

You may have been told before about the technique called “probe and hook.” It describes the method judges employ to direct your questioning—they listen to your responses and seek out key words which sound interesting enough to merit a follow-up.16 By changing the volume of your voice to emphasize certain words, and ending your answers at the appropriate points, you can manipulate—er, encourage—a judge into asking you what you want to be asked.

Suppose you were answering a question about Decathlon and wanted to transition toward your Asian-American heritage. You might end an answer with the statement:

My parents were especially happy about my participation in the Decathlon because in the country which we’re from—Laos—academic success is the most important element in determining your future and your family’s status in the community.

15 Think of the event as an audition for adoption. 16 This also works on long, boring telephone calls, when you tune out of most everything the other person says except for a keyword here and there. Repeat the keyword, add a question mark, and voila—the person begins talking again. This does nothing to end the conversation but does allow you to multitask (especially if you have a quiet keyboard.)


The judges will most likely move onto the topic of your family being from Laos. Probe and hook may sound like hocus pocus, but it is a very valid, consistent method for guiding a conversation. I’ve known some people who have massive success with it—one varsity competitor, for example, was asked what his favorite music selection was. He chose Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and ended his answer by saying it provoked a flood of an emotion in him—without specifying the emotion. A judge then eagerly asked, “Which emotion?” leading him on to a nice answer about awe and his place in the universe. This was more effective than if he had just rambled about awe and his place in the universe in the first place—because then, it would have looked as if he were going on forever about a simple question.

Try it out in practice and see what results you get.

Sentimentality

Sappiness isn’t valued much in high school, or many places at all, except maybe Korean soap operas—but some judges like it a lot. When asked what you value most about Decathlon, don’t hesitate to talk about your teammates and the precious nature of your moments together. When asked what kinds of movies you like most, go ahead and admit that you adore “teen flicks” that end with climactic prom scenes. If it’s true, feel free to tell them that you are a romantic and that you love flowers and gazing at the moon. If you think life matters, say that it does—and if you believe, as does our recently married alumnus Sanjai, that love is the force that binds the universe together, don’t keep it to yourself.

If you think all this is sentimental drivel, take a different approach. You don’t want to be insincere.

Stay on Topic

An alarming number of decathletes come into the interview so prepared to give certain prepared responses that they deliver them even when they don’t quite fit the question. The student hears the keyword “hero” and says, “My hero is my grandfather, because…” before realizing the judge was asking, “Who thinks of you as their hero?”—or “What did you think of the last season of Heroes?” Be very careful to answer the question the judges are asking, not the question you would like them to ask you.

Make Perfect

Again, the best way to prepare for the interview is to undergo realistic and regular mock interviews under authentic competition conditions. Ask your coach (nicely) to arrange one panel of judges each or every other week. Be sure not to use the same judges every time, since this is unrealistic for both judges and students.

You can’t arrange for a panel every day of the week, so you’ll also want to prepare for the interview as a team. Divide into small groups and conduct simulated interviews of one another. Take turns asking questions and responding to them, even at the dinner table (when you’re not practicing impromptus.)

Several members of my team learned to interview themselves by running through the probe-hook method in their own heads. They would sit in an empty room and speak aloud (and alone) for seven minutes at a time. Others preferred the car, or the shower. Any place works, if you’re sufficiently determined.

And—as clichéd as it may sound—try to inject a fresh spirit into every interview you undertake. If you feel your responses growing stale, it’s time for new responses.


Advice from Recent Decathletes

David Haughney

“Stories are the key. They don't have to be spectacular (such as saving a drowning person or having to give CPR). They can be, but simple stories such as having dinner with your family, watching a movie with your friends and having a nice relaxing night, or the random tradition that your AcaDec team has (such as Taco Tuesday at Taco John's) work just as well. If the judges can relate to you, or at least get insight into who you are, you will do great.”

An Qi

“Calm down and slow down. Most of us will speak faster during competition during practice. Even if you don’t think you're going too fast, chances are you probably are. Judges are looking for effective delivery as much if not more than they are content. Rushing through an interview question will destroy any chance of effective delivery and muddle up content as well.”

Dean Schaffer

“Have fun! If you have fun, the judges will too.”

Isabel Salovaara

“Stay positive. If they ask you about a challenge you have faced or something that has been hard for you, try to mention how you have overcome it or why struggling with it has helped you develop as a person. You do not want to depress your judges too much—staying positive will help you come across as a mature person who can learn from his or her hardships and continue on with life.”

Cathy Erbes “Don’t get nervous—just answer the questions.”

Zac Ellington

“Practice for this one too. A lot.”

Tracy Huang

“Judges love sophistication, so ooze confidence from the very pores of your skin. Stand up straight, project your voice, and shake their hand firmly. Look them straight in the eye when you talk, and don't waver in your assertive responses. If you have trouble figuring out how exactly to go about accomplishing this, find the most confident person you know, and spend a day or two hanging around him or her. It worked for me.”


Making Things Up Have you dodged sniper fire on your way to school?17 If so, it would be a great story to share in the interview. Problem is, some Decathletes

share stories even if they aren’t true. They fabricate things that never happened, take on different personas, and even reinvent their whole

histories.

One decathlete we know once learned in advance that his judges at the state competition would be from the local bar association. When asked about his career goals, he therefore asserted with a great big smile that he wanted to become a lawyer. The judges asked him why—and, as he had never thought about it, he was forced to fumble to justify his claim on the basis of anecdotes from John Grisham novels. As supporting evidence goes, The Pelican Brief is pretty flimsy.

At the risk of moralizing, we don’t condone interview lies under any circumstances. We don’t think they’re necessary: every one of you reading this is interesting enough to score well without them. And, any Decathlete good enough at lying to score well this way would probably have the confidence and charisma to do fine anyway.

With that said, I have been fooled by some pretty good performances over my years of interview judging. One student told me how he loved kids and volunteered at a summer camp. He later admitted it never happened—before going on to win nationals. Another had joined a fictional chess club.

When students tell me afterward that they made their answers up, I never know what to say. Congratulations? Never do it again?

That sounds about right.

Congratulations. Never do it again.

17 Or landing in Kosovo?

An Imaginary Friend

One of my teammates-----the second overall scholastic at nationals-----worried that his life was bland. However, he had grown up on an air force base in Saudi Arabia, and decided to take advantage of this to add colorful details to his past. When prompted to discuss how life there was different than in the United States, he would describe the women wearing veils, the five-time daily prayers, and the oppressive heat-----and then he would say, in a masterful use of baiting the judges, that even the pets were different in Saudi Arabia. Judges always asked what he meant. Steve would sadly answer that what he missed most about living in Saudi Arabia was his family’s pet camel, Flint. He ended up scoring a perfect 1000 in interview three times over his two years in the competition. Arguably, though, he shouldn’t have had to embellish his childhood at all. Saudi Arabia was intriguing enough, Flint or no Flint.


Practice Interview Questions

Some questions come up all the time; others, less often. I hope the following list can serve both as handy prompts for you to think through as a

team and as helpful sample questions for practice interview judges.

50 More Traditional Interview Questions

Academic Decathlon: The Competition

1. Which art piece (or music selection, or poem, etc) is your favorite? Why?

2. What have you learned from this year’s theme that applies to the world today?

3. Tell me about (specific music selection, art piece, or poem). How does it relate to the theme?

4. Which event do you find most difficult? Which event do you find easiest?

5. What is the best aspect of the Decathlon competition? What is the worst?

6. Which subject area is your favorite? Least favorite?

7. Do you feel that the Decathlon is an accurate measure of academic ability?

Academic Decathlon: The Preparation

8. If you had been your team’s coach, how would you have prepared the team?

9. How did you and your team prepare for the Academic Decathlon?

10. How do you deal with stressful Academic Decathlon moments?

11. What will you remember most about the Academic Decathlon?

12. What have you learned from the Academic Decathlon? How have you changed?

13. Why did you choose to participate in the Academic Decathlon program?

14. What holds your team together?

15. What three words would you use to describe your Decathlon experience?

School and Extracurricular Activities

16. What is your favorite (or least favorite) subject?

17. What advice would you give to someone just starting high school?

18. How would you improve your school?

19. What makes a good teacher?

20. In which extra-curricular activities are you involved? Why?

21. Your résumé indicates that you are involved in _____. Tell us about this.

22. Do you play any sports?


23. Tell us about a challenging experience you’ve been through and what you learned from it.

Post-Secondary Education Plans

24. Do you plan to attend a college or university?

25. What do you plan to major in? Why?

26. What qualities are you looking for in a college?

27. How do you plan to finance your college education?

28. What do you hope to achieve in college or university?

Long-Term Goals

29. What is your career goal?

30. Do you have a special dream?

31. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

32. For what do you want to be remembered?

33. What is the thing you would most like to accomplish in your life?

Values

34. Which values do you admire most in other people?

35. What makes someone a good friend?

36. How did you develop your value system?

Important Figures and Role Models

37. Which historical figure do you most admire?

38. What fictional character would you most like to meet?

39. Who are your heroes?

40. If we asked your parents what they would like to change about you, what would they say?

Life Outside of School

41. What do you do when you’re not at school?

42. What are your hobbies?

43. Where do you like to spend your Friday nights?

44. Do you do any work in the community?

45. What is your favorite television show?

46. What would be your ideal day?

47. How has your experience in _____ affected you as an individual?


Extras

48. Is there anything else you wish we had asked you in this interview?

49. Where would you be today, if you weren’t here with us?

50. Tell us about your participation in _________.

50 Much Less Traditional Interview Questions

Controversial Issues

51. How do you feel about bilingual education?

52. What is your opinion of the war on terrorism?

53. How would you feel about a nationalized health care system?

54. Is it ever acceptable to censor books?

55. How do you view taxes and the federal budget deficit?

56. Should we continue implementing capital punishment?

57. Do you support affirmative action?

58. Is the government overreacting to hurricanes after Katrina?

59. Is racism still an issue that America should be concerned about?

60. What is your position on the nature versus nurture debate?

61. Should criminals who suffered bad childhoods be accountable for their crimes?

62. What is your stance on economic globalization?

63. Should “intelligent design” be taught in schools?

Up Close and Personal

64. What is your favorite color, and what do you think it says about you?

65. What kind of person would you like to spend your life with?

66. What is your greatest pet peeve?

67. Describe for us your most embarrassing moment.

68. Please relate to us one of your life-shaping events.

69. How different would you be had you attended a different school?

70. What was your greatest fear as a small child?

71. What is your greatest weakness?

72. Where would you like to live?

73. Which “most likely to…” award are you most likely to win when you leave high school?

Thought-Provokers

74. What is your definition of being politically correct?


75. Should the government require that men and women receive equal pay?

76. Define what justice means to you.

77. Why are education and learning important to you?

78. What does it mean to be masculine or feminine?

79. How would you define practical and emotional intelligence?

80. What is your definition of the American Dream?

Random Challenges

81. How would you alert somebody that their zipper was down?

82. How would you console a friend grieving over a great loss?

83. If you could afford any one thing in the world, what would you buy?

84. If you could invent a machine to do anything, what would yours do?

85. What is the one question you least expect to be asked today?

86. Why are manhole covers round?

87. Should the United States be permitted to launch preemptive wars?

88. Have you ever lied—and if so, why?

89. Have you lied in this interview?

90. Why are sunsets red?

91. How do escalators work?

92. Would you lie to help a friend?

93. What is the best age to die at? The worst?

94. What does it mean to be authentic?

95. If you were writing a TV show, what would it be about?

96. Should we abolish or change the electoral college?

97. Have you ever participated in the illegal downloading of music?

98. What’s the most creative way you’ve ever tried to learn something?

99. What would be your campaign platform if you ran for president?

100. What would you be wearing if you weren’t competing today?


Memoirs of an Interview Judge No one believed we were judges. Maybe it would have helped if we had a little white hair18. This became very clear when another judge

wished Sanjai and me good luck. “Don’t be nervous,” she said. “You’ve been preparing for this all year. You’re ready.”

“We’ll do our best,” I said, and then boarded the judges’ bus with her.

Interview training was thorough. Non-competing decathletes came forward and underwent model interviews on stage. As judges, we assigned each a score; then, we compared across the room, to make sure everyone was on a similar scale. Looking around, however, it was clear certain judges were “softer” than others. They smiled and nodded and assigned every student a near-perfect score. Others were scalding in their criticism. I was left doubting whether fair judging panels could ever be assembled. The two of us fell somewhere in the middle. Having competed on a winning team, I certainly knew how good a good interview ought to be—but at the same time, I knew how bad a bad interview could be.

Or, rather, I thought I knew these things. Later in the day, Sanjai and I encountered individuals at both ends of the spectrum, one so articulate he left us in awe, and another so unprepared and shy that she left us cringing on her behalf, and doubting in our skills as interviewers.

Case 1

He was an interview judge’s dream: well-groomed, respectful, with a clear, resonant voice. His stride was strong. “Sir,” he said, nodding at each of us before sitting down. No feigned sugary handshaking from him. He spoke without filler words. No ums, ahs, or likes. Before answering each question he paused just long enough to compose a precisely-worded response. Asked for his role models, he surprised us with a combination of a historical figure and a character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. One, he said, was real, but imperfect; the other, fictional, but ideal.

Sanjai followed up, asking him for his favorite Star Trek episode. He made an excellent choice under pressure, selecting an episode titled “Disaster,” in which Captain Picard had to face his fear of children.

He answered every question with similar wit and insight. Though he smiled only a little, he seemed at ease. He made comfortable eye contact. The interview had the atmosphere of a casual yet intellectual conversation, and he conveyed the bearing of someone confident in himself but still very humble.

When he thanked us for the interview, we shook his hand and saw him on his way. “You did great,” one of us said to him. He did do great. Sanjai and I each gave him a perfect 1000, and the third judge, a 990. The next day, at the banquet, we cheered when he won the gold medal.

Case 2

Her glasses were crooked. I’ve had the same problem with mine a hundred times19, so I didn’t pay it much attention at first—but she was visibly uncomfortable, fidgeting with them and blinking at us.

18 We’ve both remedied this since. 19 Not anymore. Hurray for LASIK. – Daniel


After the preliminaries, Sanjai glanced over her résumé. “Tell me about an exciting Mock Trial experience,” he suggested, hoping it would be an easy beginning for the interview, something she had probably practiced at least once or twice.

She mumbled, “Mock….mock trial?” and looked panicked.

We waited a few seconds. No answer. Hoping to break the silence, I looked down at the résumé again and found another topic. “How about a Speech and Debate experience, then?” I asked.

“Speech… debate?”

Hoping it would be easier, we asked her for her favorite event. Interview, she said, because it gave her the chance to talk to people. Yet it was painfully clear she had a hard time talking to people in the interview.

We spent most of the seven minutes asking her questions to which she gave one or two word answers. This taught us what we had always suspected: that there can be a correlation between the skills of an interviewee and the number of questions judges are forced to ask to keep the conversation rolling (or limping) forward. Weaker interviewees make judges work harder.

Trying to lighten things up toward the end, I asked her for three words she would use to describe herself. She paused. “Interesting?” she offered finally. A few second’s later, she added, “Nice.” We waited for the third word. She was clearly straining for it. Then she sighed. “I can’t think of another word.”

That’s all right, we told her—and soon after that she left the room, unable to answer our final question, “Is there anything else you would have liked us to ask you during this interview?”

As judges, we stared at our scoring sheets for a long while before marking them. I settled on a score somewhere between 300 and 400; Sanjai, between 350 and 450; the third judge, between 200 and 300. In the end, we had to remind ourselves that we weren’t judging a person, we were judging a performance.

The Upshot

Early in the morning, judges are nearly as nervous as you. Many haven’t done this before; they won’t have a stock repertoire of questions to ask or answers to expect. The first few interviews really are evaluated on a different scale—easier at the bottom, and harder at the top, just because there isn’t enough basis for comparison. And the best interviews are definitely the effortless ones. If you see your judges straining to keep a dialogue alive, try to help them out. Don’t babble, but don’t hold back either.

Bad posture was also bad for points. Shaking knees do not please. And we had a strong sense of when individuals were lying to us and when they were being truthful. We assumed honesty for the most part…and we never pulled the “Have you lied to us during this interview?” question that won a Decathlete from my school the gold medal when he answered, “Yes,” and apologized.

Mostly, we discovered that judging interviews is an uplifting experience. To meet and get to know decathletes was a privilege. Remember that20 many of your judges are out there to have their faith in youth reinvigorated. Make that one of your goals: to invigorate them. You’ll invigorate your scores, too.

20 Except at nationals, where they’re temp workers.


About the Authors Daniel Berdichevsky is a belated graduate of Harvard and Stanford Universities, the founder of the World Scholar’s Cup, and the former director of strategic innovation at CASIO, where his duties included buying toys, tutoring the son of Mr. Casio, and patenting things that never went to market, including a pen that could read and play sheet music. Pictured are the pillow he travels with all over the world and the puppy he misses at every stop along the way. Daniel’s most recent practice with the interview event was in India, the awkward evidence of which will live forever on YouTube. Daniel admires people who have perfected alternatives to the handshake, including the fist bump, the eyebrow wag, and the casual hug.

Greta Baranowski, who had the pleasure of revising this guide, is a graduate of Arizona State University and a past member of the Arizona Academic Decathlon state board. The highest scorer at the 2004 national competition, she has three main goals in life: to write a novel, to get a tattoo, and to become adept in the art of ballroom dancing21. She feels a deep spiritual connection with Princeton from Avenue Q and loves the long-defunct Gilmore Girls more than anything else in the world, except possibly her long-defunct green 1999 Saturn wagon.

21 This, I tried once. My partner asked if she could find someone else after our first lesson together. – Daniel

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1€¦ · INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1 Interview Resource ... voice projection...

Documents

Transcript of INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1€¦ · INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 1 Interview Resource ... voice projection...