You need the right skills to perform the job you want to get. But the ability to communicate that you have them and can use them to help your future employer be even more successful is just as important.
“Good communication skills make you very attractive in interviews,” Charles Duhigg told CNBC Make It.
Duhigg has studied hundreds of people in writing three books on productivity, habits, and communication. His latest book, The Supercommunicator: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, examines the characteristics of the most effective communicators.
Duhigg shared three communication tips candidates should incorporate into their next job interview to connect with the person on the other side of the table (or screen) and make a stronger impression.
1. Give authentic answers
Interviewers know that candidates want to make a good impression. But if your answers to interview questions sound too polished or clichéd, you may be doing yourself a disservice.
“They know you’re performing and they know you’re there to get the job,” Duhigg says. But the more we can truly communicate who we are, the more opportunities employers have to see if we can actually succeed there.
You can stand out by answering questions honestly but tactfully, he added. “The interviewer will remember the answer,” he says. “The best communication is the most honest communication.”
One of the most difficult questions to answer in an interview is “Tell me about your weaknesses.”
If they ask you a question like this, Duhigg says, “I’ll answer as honestly as I can. It doesn’t mean you have to expose your shortcomings or say anything off-topic.”
Career coach Madeline Mann previously told CNBC Make It that the ideal answer is one that briefly outlines the true weakness before explaining the steps you’re taking to address the problem area, but doesn’t make it “the core of your job.”
2. Ask questions
“Think about how many people go into an interview and they ask, ‘Do you have any questions?’ And the questions they ask are completely predictable,” Duhigg says.
Duhigg said the best communicators typically “ask more questions” than others. They also ask what he calls deep questions, ones that focus on a person’s values, beliefs, and experiences.
For job seekers, that might mean asking the interviewer how they got the job or what their favorite part of the job is.
3. Mirror the other person’s body language
Some of the most important communication is silent. Body language can convey so much, and mirroring the interviewer’s posture, gestures, and facial expressions can make you a more attractive candidate for the job.
It could be as simple as smiling back when someone smiles during a conversation, or noticing when someone leans in and doing the same.
“The more prepared and comfortable you are, the better the interview will be,” Duhigg says.
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