Oral Communication Skills- Fast
By Declan Jones
Talking to each other is something we do everyday. You converse with strangers, friends and associates. However, when placed in an uncomfortable situation, how do people react? That is what you need to find out before making the choice on which candidate is right for you.

When testing oral communication skills, you can use many methods.The interview itself is often considered sufficient, but how would the candidate react if a hostile customer was standing in front of them? How would they react if they weren’t trying to impress the hiring manager? One way to find out is to role-play a situation. Have a current employee pretend to be an angry customer. Give the candidate a brief overview of the authority level of the job, and have the employee come in and relate the make-believe situation. See how the candidate reacts. Do they get flustered or angry in return? Do they remain calm and professional? Do they quake and look for someone with more authority? Any of these reactions will help you determine if this candidate is the right person for you.

If a scenario isn’t feasible, or if you are looking for a more in-depth analysis, you can have the candidate go through a series of problem solving techniques. Develop an issue that’s common to this position, or ask the employee for examples from previous employers.



Then have the employee describe the situation to you. This will help determine if the candidate can interpret the issue, and if they can explain it to someone else. Then have them explain how they would handle the issue. Did they go through an appropriate process? Can they explain all the steps to you, or do they get fluster and jump about, skipping back and forth within the process? Is their solution logical, understandable?In addition, how would a customer react to the proposed solution?

Don’t make this easy. You don’t want all the candidates to breeze through it successfully. What you want to determine is which candidate is right for you. You can use these methods to help narrow the field. You want to figure out how your prospective employee thinks and how they present themselves to coworkers, management and customers. If you’re lucky, you may just find a candidate who is so on top of things in their field to impress you, or to arrive at a feasible solution that you hadn’t envisioned.

Declan Jones is the Managing Director of wynnwith, the leader provider of career advice.

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