FIT | How do you prevent that an answer sound memorized?

Question

Hi all, for fit I feel like I've got a few very strong/structured stories. However I get the feedback that these sound memorized (which to be honest they are). I try to put enthousiasm in my stories and drag people along, but I might sound too salesy.

What's a good way to deal with this?

Answer 1

Hello,

That's a great question and issue which I've seen in quite a few candidates that I've interviewed before.

Interviewers expect that candidates prepare for the interview, that of course includes rehearsing fit stories as well as practicing case problems

But coming off as ‘too memorized’ or ‘robotic’ normally is an issue of:

Not addressing or answering the question fully, not accounting for potential nuances
Not being able to respond to follow-up questions adequately and relevantly
Not having a natural way of delivering the story - this has more to do with tone, intonation, pacing and pausing

Hard to tell what your specific issue is given I've not heard you share your stories, but here are some general tips:

Really pay close attention to the specific question asked including the terms/phrasing. While the themes are the same, sometimes there would be an added element in the prompt. Then you could adapt accordingly
- e.g. being able to use and repeat the specific phrases like “challenge” instead of “problem” depending on what you prepared for vs what is being asked in the prompt
- e.g. being able to focus abit more on certain aspects of your story, if a certain theme was highlighted more in the prompt
While it's good to know your stories by hard, there is a difference between memorizing word by word, versus memorizing key points/messages
- For myself, I found that knowing the 3-5 key messages I wanted to land helped me to not sound robotic - because each time the way I would answer the story would be slightly different
Try changing up the the pacing and pausing in your delivery, in addition to other physical cues such as glancing to the left
- The risk here is if you again memorize this, you will also too sound and look too robotic
- I found that if i followed point #2 above, I had more natural pauses and pacing simply because I also had to actually think sometimes on what to say next

Hard to give more concrete and specific advice without hearing you speak - but hope the above is helpful.

All the best!

Answer 2

Hi there,

You have your answer….

Don't memorize your stories!

Everyone gets this mixed up because it sells to say online “here is the formula”.

Erase your stories.

Create bullet points of your stories.

Practice telling the stories with someone asking you the questions and you being forced to adjust.

Remember, just like you wouldn't read off a page during a powerpoint presentation (you'd go off bullet points), same thing here!

The fit interview is…a conversation

Answer 3

Hi there,

This is a great question and a good problem to have.

I would do three things to start with:

Take some distance, i.e., stop practicing them for a while. Only for a couple of days.
Make sure the notes you took on the stories are in bullet-point format and not in long-hand. So basically the cheat sheet you use to practice the stories should only have the ideas high-level so you can use different words every time, rather than being written word by word like a speech that you've learned by heart.
Get a professional assessment from a coach. Peer feedback is great but it only goes so far. You might actually have much bigger issues with your stories then you think you do, so focusing on them sounding memorized might not even be a priority at this point.

Best,

Cristian

Answer 4

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

Depending on who gave you the feedback, I would advise you to record yourself talking about the situation and reflect on it to see if you agree that it sounds memorized.
If you do agree that it sounds memorized, try to vary your language and tone by avoiding the use of the same words and phrases repeatedly.
However, I would not advise you to stop memorizing or writing down in detail your situations entirely. If it helps you, you should continue doing so.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 5

Hi there,

Use a simple framework to draft and remember (not memorize! )your stories, for instance, the SCORE framework I have created.
A couple of bullet points per letter of the SCORE
Then, practice telling your stories and answers to friends and family.
Practice different scenarios, e.g., more interrogative interviewers, more quiet interviewers, etc.

Read more on the SCORE here: https://www.preplounge.com/mckinsey-pei

Cheers,

Florian