Behavioural Interviews Module 9
Delivery and practice interview questions
Interview questions on delivery and practice: short warm-ups, then what each harder question tests, the first step of a good answer and its follow-ups.
Warm-up questions
Short questions with short answers, each answered in full.
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Fresher to mid
Should you memorise your interview answers word for word?
Answered in the lesson Rehearsing and delivering stories out loud
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Fresher to mid
What is signposting in a spoken answer, and why does it help an interviewer?
Answered in the lesson Rehearsing and delivering stories out loud
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Fresher to mid
What is a one-way video interview, and how is it different from a live video interview?
In a one-way video interview, also called an asynchronous video interview, you record answers to questions that appear on a screen, usually with a set time to prepare and a set time to answer each one, and the recordings are assessed later. In a live video interview an interviewer is there with you in real time. The difference that matters most is the missing listener: nobody can ask a follow-up probe, look interested or show that you have said enough. So a one-way answer has to carry its own structure, its own evidence and its own ending, inside the time limit. Prepare by timing your stories to the limits the invitation gives, and by saying your headline in the first sentence.
From the lesson Video, phone and one-way video interviews
Questions with model answers
What each question tests, the first step of a good answer and the follow-ups to expect.
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Fresher to senior
Tell me about a time you had to explain a technical problem to people without a technical background. How did you make sure they understood?
- What it tests
- Adapting an explanation to its audience, structuring it so that it can be followed by ear, and checking understanding with evidence rather than assuming it.
- First step
- Choose a story in which the audience had to act on your explanation, such as approving a delay or changing a process, so that their understanding shows in what they did. Prepare the one sentence you opened with, the comparison you used and how you checked that they had understood.
- Follow-ups
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- What did you leave out, and why?
- How did you know they had understood?
- What would you explain differently now?
From the lesson Rehearsing and delivering stories out loud
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In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 3 minutes
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Mid to senior
How do you prepare for an important presentation or a difficult conversation at work? Walk me through a recent example.
- What it tests
- Whether you prepare deliberately: the audience and the goal first, then rehearsal aloud, timing and the questions you expect, shown on one real occasion with its outcome.
- First step
- Pick one real occasion with a clear stake, such as a design review or a decision to delay a launch. Describe your preparation as the steps you actually took, in order, with what each one changed, then the outcome and what you do differently now. Avoid a general list of habits.
- Follow-ups
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- Which question caught you out, and how did you handle it?
- How much time did the preparation take?
- What would you cut if you had only an hour?
From the lesson Rehearsing and delivering stories out loud
Model answer, Pro.In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 3 minutes
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Fresher to mid
Tell me about feedback you received on how you communicate. What did you change, and how did you know the change had worked?
- What it tests
- Taking feedback about a personal habit without defending it, turning it into a specific change, and checking whether the change held.
- First step
- Choose feedback about one specific habit, such as running long in stand-ups or burying the conclusion in a review. Say who gave it and what they said, the change you made, and the evidence that it worked: something you measured, or something the same person noticed later.
- Follow-ups
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- Did you agree with the feedback at first?
- How did you measure the change?
- Has the habit come back since?
From the lesson Rehearsing and delivering stories out loud
Model answer, Pro.In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes
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Fresher to mid
This question is recorded. You have 30 seconds to prepare and 2 minutes to answer: tell us about a time you had to learn something new quickly to get your work done.
- What it tests
- Delivering a complete story to a camera within fixed limits and without an interviewer to probe: a headline, your own actions, the result and an ending before the time runs out.
- First step
- Use the 30 seconds to choose the story and fix its headline and its result, not to write sentences. Then open with the headline, so that the first ten seconds of the recording already say what you learned and what came of it.
- Follow-ups
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- What would you do if the timer showed 30 seconds left before your result?
- You may record the answer again once. When would you?
- How would you answer the same question in a live interview?
From the lesson Video, phone and one-way video interviews
Model answer, Pro.In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 3 minutes
-
Mid to senior
We're on a phone call, so I can't see any diagrams. Walk me through the most complex project on your CV in about three minutes.
- What it tests
- Structuring a technical story for a listener with no picture: a spoken map, numbers said clearly, joints that let the interviewer steer, and a finish within the time asked for.
- First step
- Start with a map in one sentence: what the project did, your role and the parts you will cover, so that a listener with no diagram knows how much is coming and in what order.
- Follow-ups
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- Which part was hardest, and why?
- Where would you go deeper if we had ten more minutes?
- How would this answer change on a video call with a whiteboard?
From the lesson Video, phone and one-way video interviews
Model answer, Pro.In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 3 minutes
-
Mid to senior
Tell me about a time you got work done with colleagues you rarely or never met in person. What did you do differently because of the distance?
- What it tests
- Working across distance and time zones: choosing written and spoken channels on purpose, making decisions and progress visible, and checking understanding, with a result that shows it worked.
- First step
- Pick a piece of work in which the distance caused a real problem, such as a decision held up by time zones or a misunderstanding on a call. Name that problem, then the specific practices you introduced, and end with a result that shows the change, such as fewer handovers waiting a day.
- Follow-ups
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- What went wrong before you changed anything?
- What did you put in writing, and what did you keep for calls?
- What would you do differently with a team in your own office?
From the lesson Video, phone and one-way video interviews
Model answer, Pro.In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 3 minutes
All Behavioural Interviews interview questions · The Behavioural Interviews track