There are many resources here to help. The one thing I think helps most is practice. A lot of people thing they can just show up to an interview or question and pick it up in real time but it takes a LOT of practice to convey your ideas in a structured manner.

Hey there,

Totally understand your concern.

Ask yourself this- why or when does anyone ramble on? This is because:

• We want to be liked
• We want to prove ourselves constantly
• We hate awkward moments of silence
• We perhaps don't know much about the topic being discussed but still want to come across as smart/knowledgeable

The biggest tip here is to just stop this expectation of yourself, just be yourself and enjoy the interaction-interview or networking call. Do your best and don't worry too much about other person's reaction. Naturally you will be at ease.

If you are in that setup (interview for e.g.) you deserve to be there and no one is doing you any favours. Have a look at these threads too that have plenty of tips:

• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-answer-tougher-fit-questions-8190
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-create-chemistry-with-the-interviewer-8271

All the best!

You can find some excellent suggestions in this previous Q&A: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-to-look-more-confident-4232

Additionally:

• Stand in front of the bathroom mirrow and power pose for 3 minutes (stand tall, head straight, hands on hips, elbows out) and just get in the mood (this sounds cheesy but it's been proven to positively prime your brain) - just don't let anyone catch you doing this ;)
• Show Interest - It's hard to use "physical" tips for looking confident without appearing cocky, arrogant, or fake. It's a fine line! Instead, showing genuine interest in the topic and engaging in this way in-of-itself shows confidence!

I may be worth it as well to hire a coach...they can run mock fit interviews as well as networking calls to help you improve.

It really comes down to practice! You've asked a relatively generic question so a few suggestions where some will be more applicable to certain situations than others. An important thing to also remember is the importance of balance (e.g., you don't want to sound overly prepared, concise and mechanical).

+ Preparation and structure: how would I introduce myself in 30 seconds, what are the 2-3 key messages I want to convey and what might be an example to convey each, etc.

+ Stories stick: you don't want to be rattling off a list of bullet points and sounding overly mechanical and boring. People will remember you through an interesting story than trying to impress them with numbers and awards

+ Building a personal connection: finding ways to connect on a personal level. Many will do extensive research on the other person, or make presumptious comments about their background but I think the most important thing is to listen and pick up on certain ques

+ Asking good questions: (more applicable to networking and at the end of an interview) people are generally happy to talk about themselves and it often comes with a "feel good" factor as well. Listen well and initiate a meaningful conversation by asking good questions. As a McKinsey interviewer, rarely did I come across a candidate who asked good questions at the end of the interview

Hi,

Confidence comes from practice, knowledge and a lot from attitude also. Please do the following things to keep things under control.

1. Keep expectations grounded. Think this is not the end of the world if i fail this interview. The world is full of opportunities.

2. Be yourself. If you are a fast speaker, dont try to talk slow and vice versa. It affects the normal flow of thoughts and hence words.

3. Try to break the ice and make the environment bit more friendly. This way its not a tense environment and makes you more comfortable.

4. Practice, practice and practice. It makes everybody close to perfect if not perfect.

Thanks

Use the PARADE structure.

Speak slower to think before you speak.

Vary your tone to captivate your audience. Try on your friends and family. Vastly underrated skill.

It's ok to be stressed preparing your FIT stories, but be relaxed when delivering them.

Practice.

Hello!
Many different techniques are discussed here in the discussion and many others can be found on the internet. The most important thing is to train regularly and hone your skills. It also helps to put yourself more often in uncomfortable situations. When you get used to getting out of your comfort zone, it will be much easier for you, and you will have better control over yourself and your skills.

Is it helpful for you?

All the best,

GB

The best way to become confident in FIT interviews or networking calls is to prepare extensively and practice.

When I started preparing for consulting interviews, the first thing I did was to search the internet for all possible questions that could be asked in FIT interviews, and based on my experience write a model response to all questions (I had a 30-page word document with model solutions to all possible questions). It is very important here that you only tell true stories that actually happened as interviewers are very adept at picking up false stories. Furthermore, you are less likely to ramble if you actually experienced the story that you are telling. Focus on keeping your stories short and concise, but make it memorable so that your interviewer won't forget.

As your answers are truthful, it will be relatively easy for you to become fluent at replying to any question that is being asked. Make sure to start practicing early and by allocating 20 minutes a day for a week or two, you should be able to answer any fit interview questions with no problem.

If you are looking to improve your structuring and communication skills for case interviews feel free to check out https://leap-pro.strategycoglobal.com/.

It is a 4-weeks management consulting course with the goal of equipping participants with the skills of high-performing industry consultants. The course benchmarked practices from top management consulting and distilled the knowledge into bite-size daily modules, which only requires 1-hour per day.

Good luck with your interview prep and your upcoming interviews!