IntroducingYourself

j J,qte her field o•e may belong to, all of us face one common
t,c«ticva i •laile giving any interview — ’So, tell us about
c urself.’ Introducing yourself may be the most common
interview drill but surely it is not the easiest one. father this can
tae the most intimidating part of the entire interview process. It
is so because allother questions that we face have more orless
specific answers. Our educational background, jobexperiences,
internships and freelance assignments, subject-specific
knowledge, skill sets, extracurricular activities — these are the
subjects that can have definite and precise answers. Buta 'self
introduction’ speech can run up tothesize of full-length novel!
is most oftheexperiences we gather in our life are important
to us, often we are unable to choose the ones that would be
suitable for the interview. Let's be honest, every minute details
or our life experiences may be very important and interesting to
us, but surely not to the people who are sitting in the opposite
counter of interview table. Whenwe are asked tosay something
about ourselves, we are — supposed toshare specific information
related to our life.Introducing yourself is an important part of
many interactive situations like conferences, group discussions,
business presentations, training courses and is not limited to
interviews. If we do not prepare our speech well in advance we
might land ina tricky situation; especially while communicating
ina second language. Hence, it is recommended to prepare
our speech before hand, taking information from all relevant
aspects of our life.

41
POINTS TO INCLUDE IN‘SELF-INTRODUCTION’
selves. Theirp
int r
nd
s cccli, we iieccl lo ii cor poretoall £1S/
q scre istank:bie
l‹ey to dO S
bedis ssjng
ill c9lJ@ib1e inform ation that wew uld
X
kills rd
related to our academic q ualificatioris e tion Asp gcts ofour
a
present silations belongs to tangible irrf
r

oñvaHo ns d ¡nterests re
personality, value system,p ersonal abou tbOt zbut r1c›t
ee d tOtM k
mostly intangibleirrformatiofl. t2 n to port
can r o d uc e certificates sup
at the same length. Since we
, al a bo u tfern St This does
thetangible information we can as it
i s gon-si
not mean that intangible irrfo rm at iOTl
portrays our ability to self assess. ale talking aboutiTltaftgible
£1t.Ane‹ all we do not
components, it isb etter not to be over-indulge
want ourlisteners to thirik that it iS SOlTle kind of
In the following diagram we haveg1VeTl general points that
should be included ina self-introductions Depending on the
context and situation,a few points can be added orremoved.

Qualifications

Academic, i Honesty,
; professional, i integrity, hard
¡ extra-curricular, ¡ ¡ cautious, i I work, work-life
urC. ourgotng, balance, etc.
Calrri, etc.

rOiRtS O iRtroducirlg yollrself

^ig 1:
 I!1 I’111 ›•I I •1 I ‹ ') ',i ‹ ‹1I Iy i 11 ‹ l

Who Am I?
• \\ecaiihegim+ith’ I £tITl .’ Then move toour
achievements
like:
I am an Art s graduatefrom (name ofinstitution)with as
Honour’s degree in(discipline of study).
I am a state level cricket player currently playing for the
(name ofsport) team.
I am a social scienceresearcher working in the field of
(name).
I am a pastry chef and have completed my hotel
management degree from (name oftheinstitute).

What areMy Best Skills*

Here we should remember to leverage the skills we have
pointed out ln our list. If we have previous work experience we
should emphasise on those and should frame theinformation in
a way that focusses on our achievements, placing us asa strong
candidate. In case we do not have any prior work experience, we
can talk about how we rose to the occasion in other situations.
For example:
• I am a competent organiser. During my internship asa
production assistant,I was given two promotions in three
months.
• I have excellent editorial skills. In my internship programme
witha monthly lifestyle magazine, I hanclled the main
feature section of four consecutive issues.
 • 1 ha e excc( tioiial l.angrmpc lcai nina ability.I can

• As a •oltrnteer for Health projects of UNICEF,l won pt3¡ ,

from rn)• superiors and mentors.

What is My Vision?
Now comes thetime to state your goals. This answershouls
be the most convincing one. State lt firmly, clearly qqq
unambiguously with full conviction. There is no scope fo
unsure body language. If we are introducing ourselves nf Opt
ofour potential employers we need toconvince them Îh£tt we axe
themost suitable person forthejobbeing offered. We arereäd;
towork hard and totake responsibilities. If we are ll troducin
8
ourselves during any public speaklng, we need tOConvey t
message that we have something very serious and importani in
talk about and we arethe right person totalk about thesubject.
There is no place for beating around thebush or friVolous chii-
p chat. Let us look atsome examples:
“ • My main career goal right now is and I'm
excited to learn how your company's leadership position in
the industry might open up opportunities for me.
Now we can gradually move ontoother kinds of information.

SPEECH PREPARATION
We have already learnt the points that we should include inout
self-introductory speech. Now we should look forthe next big
step — to prepare ourselves for the actual action. Noting down
theinformation and makinga schematic structure of the speech
is not enough. We must practice it again and again so that W
can deliver lt wlth full confidence and fluency in front of Oh
listeners. There area few tips we can follow here.
• Practice, Practice and Practice more: For any speech conten
is not the only thing to ponder upon. Style of deli e*1''
 ) ) 7 f 7/ /1I / ’ I i //I ' I’ y

t t1tq¿jj ( jjj [, )'tjj Q1t

jl)j I ‹ \!) I I *I I I i)I J f ) I ) I ’) I V* ’r */ ’.’,‹ '

review onr clcli very lime,

the process.
and Family Mem bers: is
, seeking Help from Friends
gjtoa good idea. We can ask them to be our andience.
their presence is not intimidating to us, it will help us
,eSpOnd with confidence and fluency. They cansuggest an cl
contribute to make thespeech better.
ou‹ goal should be to maintaina conversational tone and not
make ita mechanical rehearsed performance. And finally, we
must not forget to maintain eye contact and appropriate body
language during the delivery of our speech. After all, non-
verbal cues talka lot about who we are asa person and how
ready we are to take new responsibilities.
 f$roup ynamics

interaction
belaaviotlral p;ttte n
or atti tude
tlaÎl3kiiag and All the
thatentail their intHF£ÎCtlVity.”Essentiall processes
y,g oup dynamics isa
r
series of interactionsfaCilitated by defined or e
xplor
2ommunicatiOFi ina groupSۥttijqg. In any group ed means of
setting onecan
e •a1uate and learrt by the process O observati
on and analysis
from belxavioural patterns.
Leadership, opinions ex pressed, varying
perspectives, quiet
observers, analysts, artgry thoughts, misdirect
ed exchange
of information, interruptions,reluctance insharing
thoughts,
mixed feelings, varying focus and £1 hOSt of other such
interactivity form the basis of group dynamics. Roles group
members assume in group dynamics stern from individual
personality, experiential learning and overall impression on
the other group members. Other people in the group are those
who are reserved while expressing their thoughts, others are
extremely confident and can be dominating attimes too.
The effectualness of group interactions can be increased
by using several techniques. Training programs, personal
development modules, tests and other such individualistic
learning modules improve effectiveness of commurñcation,
hence interactions during exchange ofinformation or thoughts
ina group. Leaders in the group can channelise discussions,
identify and relay target of group discussions and then finally
motivate others to achieve targets through the process of
planning and delegation.
• Getting Acquainted: It involvesself-introductions in order
for the group members to know one another. This allows

47
 each meiiiber .ari opportunity to how onc another and
L›iiilci .a i clationslaip. Interactions ina group are eHectivc
if iiicnaber know each other and are able to identifybasic
Cls.a
i .aCteristics or personality type of one another.
• Cl.arifying Expectations: Underlying perceptions
t
unspoken ideas or preconceived notions about thematic
exchange in group dynamics form one's expectahon.
“Expectations” form the basis of how we interact and
exchange ideas, ’how things are going to be, or how
people will behave, or how people will react’. The element
of surprise usually startles many as theoccurrence of
interactions divers vastly from their expectations. ThC
degree of surprise may inhibit them todevise appropriate
responses or they might at times be unable to express or
react as they were so sure and self-convinced of their owR
predetermined expectations. Hence it is always important
to remain open minded and prepare to revisit expectations
and make necessary adjustments.
• Group Problem Solving: Groups are usually formed
to fulfill social objectives or to accomplish tasks at hand.
Problems do creep in because of the diversified nature
of responses during interaction. Thus, problem solving
becomes a requirement. \Vhile accomplishing tasks or
social goals, the level of interactivity intensifies, as the
constraints of time and resources tends to create some
forma pressure. So, problem solving requires members
to find common means toincorporate varying styles and
skills without offending personal beliefs so that group
dynamics is cohesive and effectual. Personal differences
and emotional responses need to be capped in order to
strategically accomplish tasks.
• Team Building and Development: A team consists of
members who have defined tasks or goals. It usually implies
a group of people who are already acquainted, atleast on
a preliminary level. Cohesiveness, recognition of team
member strength and weaknesses and interdependence
, xchieving Group Consensus: lflcHlairnorisly to fernn( or
gripconsensus relates to theprocess of tal‹iia$a clccision
regarding completion of tasks and attainment of 6 Els.
voting, check lists and tabulating results of tasks by each
member help to arrive ata consensus. Arriving ata decision
canbea difficult and subjective process.
We can also understand group dynamics through understanding
thedynamics of group discussions, which isa systematic
and purposeful interaction in whicha group of participants
exchange their thoughts, views and ideas ona particular topic.
It is an important part of not just job interviews. Rather, it is an
important activity which isalso used in academics, business,
administrative domain, TV journalism and in many such
similar fields.

GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Group discussions are face-to-face conversations. Generally,a
circular or semi-circular sitting arrangement is prepared forthe
purpose. There isa panel of experts who monitor the process
and might participate or raise questions during the discussion.
Whena group discussion is arranged asa part of c9Fl iliterView
process, experts usually observe a participant ’s team playing
skills. Since the ideal aim of the process is to reach toa pOint
there, taking everyone's point of view, a group can find a
SOlution toa problem or come to a mutual ag ’oo **’*^
partiCipant's leadership qualities are being tested.
 kg a du Iitl1’‹›‹l I‹ IIi't! '‹' "”'I""’"
—”°-” "“”"

Necessary9 *!’ ’*
1Î!’tI1

LlrfllÎ(Ît?S bülFlÿ (tjp

• A , ,licalii›i, o‹5 »Jt’ ‘^*^" “

• Convcrsational SkÍllS
• Ahentivencss
• Listcning SkillS
• Clarity of thought and expreSSÍOFl
• Body language
• Team behaviour
• Leadership ability
Any conversation or discussion wc enter demands some
amount ofknowJedge ofthetopics. Ina groupdiscussion, the
topic is not generally declared well in advance. Oncea topic¡
given, it isa paneJ's discretion whether it gives some time foi
brain stormirig to the participants or asks them toextemporise,
Since it is not possible to guess all the topics or problems that
are likely to be given, then how can we prepare ourselves?
Our general awareness, knowledge ofcontemporary incidents,
ability to analyse the pros and cons of an issue, ability to place
an argument with a logical sequence and ability to mate
deductions or form opinion from analogical situation work
will be put to test here. Readin6 newspaper, editorial articles,
foIJowing national and international news, and analysing
it criticalJy is the most important exercise here. The topics oî
GD can be general ones or related to some specificincidents OU
recent past. Let us look atsome probable topics.
• Advantages and disadVant•6eS of pre-poll predictions
• Hard work orsmart work — which is better?
• Computers have resulted in unemployment.
 or {J äKd ethlCal values among people aredegeneratir}g.
çp nid capitalpuniSRrrient be banned oralloived?
, shouJd it be mandiitO tO play the nationäl ant1, ri,¡pJ
e
cinem ä hälS
discussion, we need tohavea ciear und
erstanding of
not necessarily about factualinformation; ratlaer
j jS db t the crux of the tO IC Hfld how we aleaddressing it.
père Cornes the question ofcommunication skills alad clarity
OJ thou
ght and expression. We may have perfect subject
pp wledge. But, if we cannot clearly analyse it and articulate it
j[j, Cohercntly logicaJ manger, others i›•ill not understand what
,ant to say.A gain afteri •e say something otlaer participants
j tQJsr› give their opinion. EitJacr we i›•ill add something to

SOME DO'S AND DO N'TS

° Forgroup discussion silence is not a golden rule. We must
speak and take part in the discussion with energy and
enthusiasm. But there is no place for monopoly either. We
l4ElSt allow others asi well to present their x•iews.

' o must remember to greet panel members and

C>-9•artiCijr
ants at the beginning and at the end.
 ti‹J'^:? i e sli‹›iil« rl,. l','viy t‹›l i'" i> ‹›1'c"

IlU Gcnrlx c• u lot more through our body languagethen

think iie do.
• Other participant s may disagree to our opinion. Bur „„
rrrust not treat them with disrespect. Every person hashlsO,
lier oies perspective md they have theright to express tôt
same. Differences of opinion are not personalrivalry alt,
all.
° BeÎRg irriti itor shows ourability to lead. So, we mElStHO,
shyaway from taking the lead.
• Brevity is not only the soul of wit rather it is the soul Of any
public discussion. More we areclear about ourthoughts
more we canexpress it precisely and more we giveothers
their due chance to speak.
• We can ask question if something is not clear to us.
• We must keep inmind repeating the same thing that either
we have said earlier or somebody else has discussed is
wastage of time.
• Being diplomatic and truthful is not contradictory things.
We can be both if we want to.
• When do nothave the information of something it is
best to say that clearly. Not knowing something is not a
crime but to pretend that we know everything isa sign of
immaturity.
Finally, regular practice, reading newspapers and journals,
conversing with friends and family members on different
tOpics, thinking critically and practicing making an argri JI
logically coherent are the best exercises for GD preparatiofl.
 Con‹/ersation Skills

j‹r pai't of oral communication is shaped by converSatiO,_

Koiical or informal linguistic exchange between two or O
eisons. It is a communication of thoughts, opinions ag
perceptions overa topic. Conversations are not pre-whig
speech exchange process like the script ofa play.SpOntaIjei
is the key feature of any conversation. Conversation iS an
important mode of communication in all fields of hurdle
activities like teaching, explaining something to our clieIltS
attending formal and official parties, discussinga film, theah
or painting, business or academic discussion amorlgothers.
In every society, conversahon follows certain etiquette
and learning those etiquettes are considered as social skius.
Linguists often distinguish between linguistic competenceand
communicative competence. Linguistic competence indicates
the competence or knowledge ofa language — its grammar,
vocabulary, syntax, words and sentence constructionalrules.
On the contrary, communicative competence talks about the
rules and norms ofsociety that we follow while conversing with
other people. A person who has only linguistic competence and
no communicative competence may be identified asa socially
awkward person with no sense of civility, decency and manners.
But again, only theknowledge ofcommunicative competence is
not enough. In spite of the knowledge we often lack the skill
to perform in social and professional situations. We feel Sh1\
uncomfortable and hesitant, especially when the language Oi
conversation is in our second language. In the profesSiOrl3l
world, carrying out successful conversations indicates OU
communication skill, interpersonal skill, leadership (}fll1t

54
 ;|jt}’ tO
'""’ ^*•"°'‹I ‹ir.›iIy,

y}$\/CTURE AND RU LES OF A CONVERSATION

Conversation irasa structure and rules that show how
ri is organised and relays how we can preventa
from breaking down intoa chaos ofinterruptions
„„dsiinultaneous talks. Experts have pointed out the following
, e S fora structured conversation:
. opening or Initiation: There are different ways tostarta
conversation. It mainlyinvolves introducing ourselves and
exchanging greetings. (Hello! How are you?/ I'm fine, thank
you. Horr areyou?). It may also start with some questions
(Excuse me, do you know...?); comment on something
present around us (How wonderful that floral arrangement
is!); general problems (The traffic condition in the city
is really in a bad shape.) or with some social comments
(Great party, isn't it?). Every conversation is initiated by
one person. Then why cannot we be the one to start it? The
more we gather to start conversations ina new gathering or
with unknown people, the more confident we will become
tocarry on our conversation and express our opinion on
various topics.
' Turn-taking: During a conversation, we often cannot
understand when tospeak ina conversation so that both
(orall) the parties do not talk at the same time. When our
interlocutors ask us some questions directly it becomes
easier for us to answer. But in case of general conversation
we often become hesitant or unsure about the when to
t ike the turn in a conversation. Linguists have pointed
out SOme subtle rules and signals to determine Who Will
talk, When and how long and thèse are called’turn-taking
€ ChaniS
S’. This may becomea littlediffiCr‹JtfOr IS tO
 professional conversations.
• lnterrupting: Tlxough it is not expected bst in the
ofa conversation we often need to interrupt the
person; especially when we want to solve some probJey
of understanding. However, interruptions too have tu b,
conducted ina certain manner. They canbeexecuted w¡fp
phrases like, ‘1 am sorry to iriterrupt, but...’, or ’Sorry, did
you say...’. It isa delicate task to interrupt the otherperS p
inthemiddle ofa conversation and if not executedcarefully
then it may appear rude.
• Topic-shift: Duringa conversation we may want toChange
the subject either because we do not want to talkabout
certain things or aftera long conversation on the same topic
we want tochange it and move ontosome other discussion
to avoid monotony. Transition from one subject to another
during conversation can be done with phrases like, “Oh! By
the way,I wanted your opinion about ...” or “That reminds
me of...”. Ir informal conversations, we skim overa large
number of topics. In such cases we must tryto do it as
politely as possible. If our interlocutor does the same we
must be attentive enough to catch the hint of shifting. We
may again getback toa conversation we had earlier. In that
case we cas use phrases like, ‘Going back to...’ or ’CS I was
saying...’-
• Adjacency Pairs: There are certain utterances phrased CS
questions,iilVÎt£itlOFtS, requests, compliments and apolo
gies,
:tors.
etc. that need immediate response from theinterloci as
Utterances like thèse and their response are knowo
where tW
adjacency pairs —the liriguistic expressions
simultaneous utterances from two differentp artie s rem=j•
¡ ortal4t
adjacent to each other. Adjacency pairs are very
 , ,. ie.«s c‹›nn on I bit difficult reaction liketu rnin dfiwn
,an in 'Station or rec|uest. This type of reaction is generally
2cansidered rudc.
-1›r iitst reduction is the preferred reaction and the second one is
tone not preferred at all. Speakers generally find it difficult
› express the second one. While givinga dispreferred answer
,‹e mustbe very tactful and indirect to avoid probable rudeness.
\\'e may need to givea justification for sucha reply and if the
situation demands, we may also have toapologise and explain to
theother party. For language learners these skills require practice.
• Closing: Conversations should not end abruptly. They must
beclosed with some formalities. Ifit is not a deliberate action,
we do not end a conversation by simply saying something
rude like, ’Well, that's allI want tosay, bye’, or, hanging up
thephone without any notice. We can prepare the ground of
closing by usinga pre-closing phase (for example, “It's been
nice talking to you...”; “Well,I don't want tokeep you from
your work.. .”; “We must gettogether sometime...”). We
can closea conversation with some excuses as well like, “It's
getting very late...”; “Let us get back tothework”; “Ihax•e
to attenda meeting now”, etc. We must be very tactful while
using such closing statements as they maay sound riide ii not
expressed with diplomacy. At times, they can disrii I the
positive flow of the conversation, if endec3 abruptly.

QUESTIONING SKILLS
We may think
present
earn to
+tOlijqd us.B
ecause of this fact we c›ftcn 1‹9Ok iJ( “""""’
“” *,
‘
»«a dui ›i •'y)yy• ) ''' I!' ''“'›i/f»f'i'’I›i!i,'.’i.›”ii',

the
maturccl rerson. Whepl ,.
for four main reasons:

• To identify the reason or reasons for an investigation and

theneed forthis action: Some examples are: Why should I
do this? How is this going to benefit people? What kind of
findings are we looking for? How are the findings going tg
be used?
• To direct the search for information and to synthesise
what has been discovered: For example, “On thebasis of
the findings what should be our next step?”; “Where is this
information leading us?”;“How can we analyse this data?”
• To evaluate the result of investigations: “What does this
information tell us?”; “Can we interpret the collected data
in this way?”
• To clarify doubts: “Isthis the right way of handling things?”
“Am I understanding the situation clearly?”
Starting from understanding our role in a particular job to
evaluating the work output, everywhere we ask questions
to seek information. But our irterests are served best when
we ask suitable questions to elicit the correct answer. Asking
questions does not always mean trying to get information
from others. We can question ourselves in order to clear our
doubts and evaluate our work. de ability to use questioning
techniques effectively and choose the right type of question iit
various contexts is considered an important skill for man•agers,
supervisors and leaders. One whO Can understand tg WÎÖ<
variety of occupational and personal
situations can become
successful irt any professiOn. And
this ability to understand ÎS
 J;reCtly
Life ï11‹ t"fi cl•c i"i I} wc* )j‹’(. ’I'lt i, c‘l:i i'iI y ‹ ›( II j‹;t )t| I ,/ nr j
S

Cyr six PERTINENT WORDS

d•ays. In junior school, our English toachcrs hacl

six words that arc used toask qucsti‹ ns:

;;tto WHAT WHERE WHEN WHY HOW

J, SpÎte OÎ £t number of other changes in language, theseh ve
ivsand oneH formula is still the starting point from where we
» develO
and sharpen our questioning skill. Rather, it can
beSäÎd th t d
eveloping questioning skill means acquiring the
p¡ ¡ty to use this formula in theright situation at the right Hme
•d place with the right blend ofWs and H.
The maxim of five Ws and one H:
by analysis of baSiC facts and information iscomplete when
wekftOw the answers of each Ws andH relevant ina siMation.
The mainprinciple underlying the maxim:
Each question should extract factual answers on the basis of
which we can proceed further in our work.

TYPES OF QUESTIONS
There are two major types of questions that we can ask to
understanda situation or elicit information — open questions
end closed questlons.
• Open Questions: Questions that cannot be answered witha
single word and needa detailed explanation.
' Closed Questions: Contrary to open questions, ’yes-no’
questions are closed questions and can be answered witha
mple yesorno.Let us look atsome examples tounderstand
thedÎfference clearly.
" 60 y clii liili"‹›‹lii‹ Ii‹›ii I‹› Is” ii|›l‹ ]/*!l›i’Ii'l.!l '”""'"'

or no’ wi thouIa ny ft rlJJ,

also important 1n ccria¡g
of the answers with tp„„

Though these are two major types of questions but we cap

add a few more types to the list depending on the way tle
question lfas been posed toextract the answer.
• Funnel Questions: This questioning method involves
asking questions that start ina general manner andlead
on toa deductive answer. We generally use this method
to delve deep into something to get more specific
answers.
• Probing Questions: When we trytounderstand an issue in
a better way we may use probing questions. These questions
are effective where we need toprobe and people arehesitant
to share details.
• Leading Questions: This type of questions are mainly asked
for the purpose of generating business, for example by
people in sales. We can use leading questions with people
who seem to be indecisive, unsure about choices. These
questions are normally closed-ended questions.
• Rhetorical Questions: As far as the linguistic structure is
concerned, these questions are not questions at allbecause
they do not require any specific answers. These aremostly
statements presented in the form of questions. The main
objective ofa rhetorical question isto engagea listener into
the conversation.

FOUNDATIONALQUEST|ONING Sl{1LLS
Asking different types of questions does not reflect Otl
questioning skills. To ask relevant questions, it takes morethan
 Fou d tio q estioning skills
IO This is the main motivatitin
Sp questiOnS, we that fuels the urge to ask
aware questions. If we are not avrare
dienecessity and of the need ofinformation
uiility of the sought them the spirit of questioning
¡lifOrmation. itself lays dormant.
Before we ask If we lack this clarity it will
questions, we need be very difficult for us to
tO understand clearly phrase relevant and effective
whatinformation is questions.
needed.
We need to be aware of We will not be able to frame
terminologies our questions properly
andother relevant without this knowledge.
vocabularies important
forthecontext or topic.
We need tobe able to To elicit relevant information,
aska range of relevant we should be able to definea
questions. range of effective questions.
These include different types
of questions like open, closed,
probing, diagnostic, etc.
Question types are chosen on
thebasis of the information
we need. In case ofa wider
context,a few closedquestions
may be asked to narrow the
focus. While trying to identify
someone's understanding
TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE
In thepresent worlc4, communication teclmology is the key
tc ct em progress Ave can think of.However, the revolution in
communication system started with theinvention of telephone.
\\'ith telephones, i •e gained access to the wide world for
business, for exchange of information. As a business tool,
telephcone is of extreme importance. Brit like any other business
c-omniriI4iCc9tion, we need to maintain professionalism while
using this medium. Hence, learning telephone etiquette is
essential for all of hisi who want better professional prospects.
In any telephonic communication there are cut least two parties
involved — the caller and the receiver. During theconversation,
they function as speaker and listener in trims and are expected
 y ¡C TELEPH O N ICCO NVERS ATION ETIQU ETTE

,j(qț i)otice the fact that5 JDei" cei)t (j Ę} ț• c(j@Ą]qj(]Ą icy(i(jiĄ ¡q

$$ $q_jrerbal. For this reason, we neecl to clevelop› goocl vcrbaI
s«ills that can compensate for the lack. Speaking cili ectly
into the mouthpiece makes our voice clear and audible to
our listeners whereas, talking on the phone while eating
S f°thing makes ourpronunciation unclear.
Like our gestures our voices also carrya lot of information
Other than word meanings, especially our mood and
emotional state. If we converse witha smile and enthusiasm,
our voice wiM convey that warmth.
« During our telephonic conversation, if someone comes to
us tosay something urgent we must request our listener/s
to excuse us for some time so that we can put them on hold.
AfterfirriSÎti+lg the urgent talk, we must getback to the
person waiting on the other side oï the phone as soon as
possible.
• Whether we are on the calling end or on the receiving end,
eetìng the other person is decorum. We may choose
to simply say ‘good morrüng’ or ‘good afternoon’ for the
purpose. As a help desk personnel we may use expressions
like, “ name mayI help you?” Usinga greeting is an
essential part of professional behaviour. We can end the
conversation with something like ‘good bye’, ‘havea nice
day’ or “it was wonderful to talk to you’.
° We must pay full attention to the conversation and try not
to interrupt the other person unless it is really necessary.
If it becomes obligatory to interrupt the other person,
we must ask for their permission and apologise for the
İnconvenience.
 HOVVTO RECElVE/ANSVVERCALLS

• 3o answer phones aspromptly as possible

• To discontinue other activities like eating, other conversations,
chores like typing, writing or arranging things
• To identify ourselves and ourorganisation/institution älO lg
with appropriate greetings (e.g., “dood morning,
Publishers, Ananya speaking. How may I help you?”)
• To answer cordially — even, if the caller has reacheda wrong
number, they can be cordially informed so.
• Ifthe caller is looking for someone who isnot available
there at the moment we may saysomething like, “I am
sorry; Ananya isnot available right now. May I help you
with something?”
• To transfer the call directly to the desired person if the
caller wants totalk to someone else and if there isno official
obligation to forward the call.

PROFESSIONAL WAY OF MAKING CALLS

Letusnow look atthe dos and don'ts of making phone calls for
professional purposes. While making calls we must remember:
• To identify ourselves before enquiring the other person
for their identity. We should never start our call by saying,
’Hello, with whom amI speaking?” rather we can start
by telling, “Good morning, this is Naveen from SRTM
University. May I know towhom amI speaking?”
• To apoIogise if we have dialleda wrong number before
hanging up the phone, we can say, “I ann extremelysorry.
must have dialleda wrong number. Please excuse the
interruption.” And then hang up thephone.
• To state the purpose of calling and then ask for further
information. We must also be prepared
with our topiC OI
Conversation as if we need tOtalk abotit more than one issue
lt lSalways better to makea list of topics beforehand.
 if she/tae sonnets Lousy.
• To maintain proper tirrie of calling if
is!e woo IA call at certain time. If we need todeJay it for
some
reason we must inform the same. Underestimating other
people's of time isextremely unprofessional.
• To leavea message ora number if the person we arecalling
is unavailable so that she/he can call back.

TAKING MESSAGES
Open We have toreceive phone calls on behalfofothers; they may
beabsent or may be busy because of their other engagements.
We may also work ina position where our responsibility is to
attend telephone calls and take messages forhigher officials.
Here area New tips that we can follow while taking messages.
We must be prepared with pen and notebooks or message
slips so that we can write the message down. We mustnotforget
to ask for the name and other contact details of the caller; the
purpose of the call and a reference or identification, if needed.
After taking the message we must repeat the message so that
the caller can cross check. In case voicemail service is available,
you can transfer the caller's message toit. But you must take the
caller's permission before transferring their call to voicemail.
The process of taking the message gets completed once the
caller's message isdelivered to the concerned person.

EN DING TELEPHONlCCONVERSATION
While conversing over the phone regarding some professional
matter, it lS alwaysa good gesMre toend thecall witha pleasant
tone.There are different ways ofendinga conversation without
being rude or impatient.
° be must trytofinish our conversation leavingit open With
a promise to finish the discussion ata later point Of time.
° Before putting down thephone, we mustensure that e
hEiVe answered allthe questions that thecaller had aske
d.
INTERV1 EW TECHN IQU
E
Infer Tier •s are ubiquitous and involve a series of question,
usually duringa formal meeting and areused to predeter ¡q
afailities, attitude, educational and skill sets for a
job or assignment. The format of the questions varies
being structured, semi-structured to unstructured. Intervie S
teclmiques deployed involve interactional exchange 0
dialogue between two parties interviewer and the interviewed
It is a ’thematic, topic-centred, biographical or narrating
approach’ which interviewers use allowing fluidity inquesti 1
patterns and flexibility in answering. A contextual or specify,
subject is the focal point of discussion and the interviewee's
relevance and situational knowledge play an integral role
in predetermining suitability to job or assignment. As ar,
interviewee, personalisation is the key. Strategic and logical
thinking and structured answers must be kept in mind before
you answer any question. Highlight your strengths and wo›k
towards responding what works best in your favour.
Interview Techniques may differ in terms of their styles, but
no two job interviews are same and each requires improvisation
in style, personalisation and most importantly preparation.
• Telephone Interviews: Telephone interviews are time
saving interview techniques as they expedite the process
of preliminary evaluation, minimise time-wasting and
help in short listing prospective candidates. Face-to-face
interviews take up time of both interviewer as well as the
interviewee. It's more informal and communicative and
requires concentrated efforts to respond toanswers quickl
and smartly. Interviewers usually have the CV andhead
the candidate's tone of voice. The course of conversati03
and extemporary style of answering questions helps in
assessment and provides a detailed insight into
attitude,responsiveness to queries and personaliJ
, TradÎtÎOllR) JOE Interview:

,, d think quickly before

isi ers to expected questions must be
,,zyñe S fpplemented using examples
learning.
-Typical questions:
y do you want this job?
What qualities do you think this job requires?
y do you want towork forthis organisation?
What have you gottocontribute?
What can we offer you that your previous organisation

How long have you been looking fora new job?

What do you know about this organisation?
What interests you about this organisation?
What areyou looking forina new job?
What sorts of jobs are you considering at the moment?
What didyou do ona day todaybasis?
What do you notlike about thejob?
How did you makea difference to your last organisation?
What was your greatest success and how did you achieve it?
What hasbeen your biggest failure?
How did you progress in your last job?
How do you handle criticism?
Hop do you work with others?
Are you accepted intoa team quickly?
What motivates you?
Cat areyou like under pressure?
Cat are your career goals?
HOP did you get on with your last manager/colleagtlcs?”
 * .’!*'I iiI ti'iliii I t‹» l‹› I”iit|›li›jliil›ilil!l :iI'lil,'.'

might
call ‹al4c) enal lebetter focus.Background distractions, o p ,
incorniiipg calls, bad iietwork reception and signale ;jq
ñisrupt the flow of conversation and this is evident
the calls. Thèse form another alternative to in-person'
interviews and comparatively a superlative versioR O
telephone interviews.
• The Peel Interview: Panel interviews are face-tO-t¿Ce
interviews but have more than two interviewers ora playO
people. The specific goal here istoeliminate any opiniorl¿fed
inferences or personal biases during assessment. P e S
usually consist of serñor management whose specifiC ro1eS
propel the type of questions and thus it is imperative fOr
the interviewee to understand their respective rolequlCkly
during the introductory phase. Each panelist reviews
specific characteristic, personality strengths and weaknesses
and then coIlates answers toconclude with others to reacha
common decision.
• Assessment Techniques: Assessment techniques here
involve questionnaires or group disciissions that assess
larger groups of interviewees simultaneously. This
technique is usually deployed by graduate employers, as
this allows easier and detailed evaluation.
• Group Interviews: Group interviews are not frequentl$r
deployed as it requiresa lot of subjective analysis buta o
being used Oflate as part of modern recruitment. TheseIo 9
i 1 asseSSÎng how candidates perform in large grorips •3J
their interactiveresponsive behaviour. SitTlilc3r to individr
interviews, the same question is asked to theparticipdRf
randomly and eachperson's individual response is
S£lbjective analy
sis of the whole group. Thisheightens the
 level of instant con pctitivci,o.,»
= '»" •-°» i;ti«l‹..
tries to c4o better than tlac oilic› IU t3l’t.1«p [,j },j j,q,
« The Behavioural/Coillpetcilcy
"q•c. !•^ ‹l^:" r‹› ,n „/
interviews intcrviewci's c4ii act sp

to ca +clidate’s skills, personalit y, Rude, hayqCter any

general preferences.
Important to remember is the ’STAR’ method aS a form
of telling your story to the interviewer. ThlS provid an
es
i nsight to the way you process andincorporate information
ona daily basis.
S — Situation or circumstance
T — Task or Target
A — Action
R — Result
Situational analysis clubbed with your story and learning
will help generate appropriate responses. Candidates
must keep the task or targeted response and formulate the
right answer. \Vhat actions you take from your personal
experiences to generate your response determines the
quality of your answers. Result of siMations, experiences
shared help assess candidate's behavioural responses. The
aim of such interviews is to ask questions that are aimed
towards definitive experiences. Expressing clarity in
thought isthe key tobesuccessful at such interviews.