Interview Resource - Keller ISD Schools

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.