Interview Resource - Keller ISD Schools

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E D I T I O N
17 DOING OUR BEST, SO YOU CAN DO YOURS
YEARS
INTERVIEW
AUTHOR
Greta Baranowski
EDITOR & CONTRIBUTOR
Daniel Berdichevsky
®
the World
Scholar’s Cup ®

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Interview Resource
2011: The Age of Empire
Table of Contents
Preface: Meet the Judges .................................................................................................. 3
The Rubric and Résumé .................................................................................................. 4
The Résumé ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Religion on the Résumé ................................................................................................................... 6
Pare Down the Paragraphs ............................................................................................................... 6
Dress, Appearance, and Demeanor .................................................................................. 7
Dress and Appearance: To a T ............................................................................................................ 7
The Handshake: Don’t Shake Them Up ............................................................................................ 8
Say Cheese to Collect 100 Points ........................................................................................................ 9
Posture: Straight as an Arrow ............................................................................................................ 10
Don’t Gesture like a Jester ................................................................................................................ 10
The Eight Basic Questions ............................................................................................. 12
Responding to Questions ............................................................................................... 14
Take Them by Surprise .................................................................................................................... 14
Modesty............................................................................................................................................ 15
Optimism ......................................................................................................................................... 16
Be Heard .......................................................................................................................................... 16
Ready, Set… ..................................................................................................................................... 17
Talk With, Not At ............................................................................................................................ 17
Judge the Judge ................................................................................................................................ 17
Eye Meet You ................................................................................................................................... 18
Probe-and-Hook is Not Hocus-Pocus .............................................................................................. 18
Sentimentality .................................................................................................................................. 19
Stay on Topic ................................................................................................................................... 19
Make Perfect ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Advice from Recent Decathletes ....................................................................................................... 20
Making Things Up ........................................................................................................ 21
Practice Interview Questions .......................................................................................... 22
50 More Traditional Interview Questions ......................................................................................... 22
Academic Decathlon: The Competition ........................................................................................ 22
Academic Decathlon: The Preparation .......................................................................................... 22
School and Extracurricular Activities ............................................................................................. 22
Post-Secondary Education Plans .................................................................................................... 23
Long-Term Goals .......................................................................................................................... 23

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Values ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Important Figures and Role Models .............................................................................................. 23
Life Outside of School ................................................................................................................... 23
Extras ............................................................................................................................................ 24
50 Much Less Traditional Interview Questions ................................................................................ 24
Controversial Issues ....................................................................................................................... 24
Up Close and Personal ................................................................................................................... 24
Thought-Provokers ........................................................................................................................ 24
Random Challenges ....................................................................................................................... 25
Memoirs of an Interview Judge ...................................................................................... 26
Case 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 26
Case 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 26
The 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.

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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 Super Quiz. 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 summary? Easy enough:
be sincere and friendly, confident but not
arrogant. The judges want to get to know
you, not your idea of who you think they
want to get to know. You may have to learn
to come across as a happy version of yourself.
Whenever you tire of practicing, remember
that when asked what event has helped them
the most in “real life” many Decathlon
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 on the other side of a cubicle divider.
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.

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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
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 many 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 El Camino or Waukesha West Decathlete.

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conversation, so write things down that you can—and really want to—talk about. Then, bold and
underline them for good measure (tastefully.)
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 story 4 .
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 rephrasing 5 (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.
RÉSUMÉ #1 RÉSUMÉ #2
Interests
Interests
music
landscape painting
sports
basketball
television
Wikipedia
computers
scavenger hunts
Activities
Activities
Honors Club
painters guild
Academic Decathlon Rainbow Club
National Honor Society cartoonistschool paper
track team
World Scholar’s Cup
World Scholar’s Cup volunteeranimal shelter
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
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

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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.
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.

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Dress and Appearance: To a T
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.
Unless you are told differently by your coach, you should always wear a suit to a competition interview 6 .
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 point 7 . 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 skirtsuit
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? First of all, it
sends the impression that you care about this interview. If you went to all that trouble to find a suit,
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

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shine your 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.” Lastly,
and perhaps most importantly, I guarantee you that you will feel better in a suit. It will add to your
confidence and give you a nice boost in self-esteem 8 .
Consider the case of Dean Schaffer, who lost about 20 points in appearance at the California state
competition in 2006—and took second place overall individual at the competition by just 12 points. He
still grouches about it.
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 avail 9 . 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 women 10 . 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

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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. It was very
discouraging (not to mention inappropriate.) A year later, with a different coach, I got better—
in fact, I overcompensated, and kept shaking hands too stiffly for a long time.
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.
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.
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.
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

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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 contestant 11 . 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 people 12 .
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:
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.
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

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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.

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 12
The Eight Basic Questions
Almost every interview will steer around two focal points. The first 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.
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

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 13
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 nature 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?”
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.
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.

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 14
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’ coworkers 13 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

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 15
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. 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.

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 16
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 joys 14 . 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.

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 17
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
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-theirluck
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.
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

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 18
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 at
everyone 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.)

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 19
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.

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 20
Advice from Recent Decathletes
David
Haughney
An Qi
Dean
Schaffer
Isabel
Salovaara
Cathy Erbes
Zac
Ellington
Tracy
Huang
“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.”
“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.”
“Have fun! If you have fun, the judges will too.”
“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.”
“Don’t get nervous—just answer the questions.”
“Practice for this one too. A lot.”
“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.”

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 21
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.
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.
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.
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.
17
Or landing in Kosovo?

50 More Traditional Interview Questions
Academic Decathlon: The Competition
INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 22
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.
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?

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 23
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?

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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?

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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?

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 26
Memoirs of an Interview Judge
No one believed we were judges. Maybe it would have helped if we
had a little white hair 18 . 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 times 19 , 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

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 27
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 that 20 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.

INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 28
Daniel Berdichevsky is an intermittent 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 the president,
and inventing things that never went to market,
including a pen that could read sheet music. Here
Daniel is pictured practicing the impromptu at his high
school in June 2005. Daniel’s most recent practice with
the interview was in Santiago, Chile, where several
newspapers and radio stations mistook him for an
expert on social networking.
About the Authors
This summer Daniel traveled to Madagascar, where he determined that lemurs have a knack for nonverbal
communication, though their answering skills leave a lot to be desired.
Daniel encourages you to find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.berd or to e-mail him with
any questions or thoughts you may have at dan@demidec.com.
Greta Baranowski, who had the distinct pleasure of revising this resource, is
a graduate of Arizona State University and a former member of the Arizona
Academic Decathlon state board. She is now a librarian at Canyon Del Oro
High School. 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 dancing 21 . 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