How to improve your communications skills for MBA interviews
In order to secure admission in top B-schools, a student has to pass three important steps- the first step is the examination, after successful completion of the examination a student applies to colleges wherein he/she goes through the further two steps i.e. Group Discussion and Personal Interview.
The personal interview of CAT 2018 is the terminal stage in the selection process. Interviews play a major role in the selection as they measure you both as a person and as a future professional in all walks of life. They assess your overall personality and basically check whether you are fit to be a part of a particular college or not. In order to ace the interview one needs to be excellent at communication skills as it is the most important factor on which a candidate is judged by the interviewer. Communication Skills not only play a significant role in the interview process but are a basic skill which an MBA graduate must possess.
The candidate cannot learn or build communication skills overnight. However, they can try and gradually improve it. Here are some important tips one can follow to improve his/her communication skills.
• Reading
One of the most important factors to improve your communication skills is reading. Reading magazines, newspapers, and novels help you in building communication skills. Reading magazines is a great way of improving not just your communications skills but also your knowledge of current affairs. Magazines such as The Week, Outlook business, The Economist and Business Today are the best for updates on international as well as national news and you would also have greater chances of cracking the interview. Reading a newspaper on daily basis also improves your communication and makes your general knowledge stronger.
Novels are a great source of enhancing your communication skills. As they revolve around various characters and stories, you tend to develop a good vocabulary. So make sure to read every day.
• Vocabulary
Another factor is improving your vocabulary. It is very important for the interviewer to understand what you are speaking and hence you should be good at expressing yourself. In order to have good vocabulary students should keep learning new words and also try framing sentences with them. Students should not focus on including fancy words in their communication, rather use simple words which could be understood by the interviewer.
• Be a Patient Listener
It is always said that a good speaker is also a good listener. So it is important to be calm and patient while communicating. The more you listen, the better you can express as it helps you put your thoughts in a better way. It is important that one must concentrate more on listening rather than speaking as you can get a better understanding of what the other person is trying to say and then you can respond in an appropriate way.
• Maintaining a Consistent Tone Throughout
In order to be fluent in communication skills, you should be able to start a conversation by expressing your point of view in a simple and flexible manner. One needs to maintain a proper tone throughout the interview and be prepared to answer all the type of questions the interviewer asks. In order to enter into a dialogue with others even with whom you disagree, you should be more honest and stick to your point and not start debating a topic.
• Confidence
While you are interacting with the interviewer it is very important that you should be confident in the way you are expressing yourself. Maintaining eye contact with the interviewer or using a friendly tone also expresses your confidence. But make sure not to be overconfident.
• Maintain a Clear Picture
While having a conversation it is very important that you are clear on what you are expressing. Often unorganized thoughts can land in an irrelevant conversation which might leave a negative impact on the interviewer, making it important to have clear thoughts and speak with clarity.
• Persistency is the Key
Communication skills can’t be improved overnight and hence one needs to be persistent and consistent in their efforts. Try reading from all possible sources such as books, newspapers and also try writing articles or speeches so that you would also improve your writing skills. If possible, try practicing speeches by standing in front of a mirror to build up confidence.
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