If you’re interviewing for a job, you’re likely to face questions about communication skills. Your answers are critical to whether you advance to the next step in the process and whether you ultimately land the job.
You’ll need to prepare for and focus on questions about your communication skills because you need to shine in every interview. The job search process is especially competitive—and interviews are hard to get. In fact, four out of ten job seekers didn’t get an interview during the past year, according to the American Staffing Association.
When you (finally!) get an interview, your communication skills themselves—and your answers to questions about your communication skills—will differentiate you from other candidates.
Why Interviewers Ask About Communication Skills
Your communication skills can help you succeed at work, for sure.
In fact, people who are talkative, outgoing and positive—and those who are comfortable taking charge and who seek out new experiences are more likely to drive positive outcomes in their work. In particular, they are more likely to be motivated, social, adaptable and persuasive. They also tend to excel at leadership and achieve great job performance, according to a research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Interviewers ask about communication skills because they know how important they are to performance. Interviewers will be looking for your ability to articulate your point of view, listen to others, resolve conflict and interact effectively make a different in every role. Essentially, they’ll want to know what you’ll bring to the company.
Questions About Communication Skills
These are the questions you’re likely to hear regarding your communication skills—and what interviewers are looking for in your answers.
General Questions
You’ll probably face some general questions about your communication approach. These include,
1. How would you describe your communication style?
2. How do you communicate with your team?
3. How do you use communication skills to build strong relationships with team members or enhance teamwork?
4. How would you evaluate your communication skills?
5. What feedback do you typically receive about your communication skills?
6. How do you decide to whether to communicate in writing or verbally?
7. In what ways do you pay attention to non-verbal communication?
8. In what ways do you use storytelling in your communication approach?
As you answer any of these questions, you’ll want to mention your confidence in communicating as well as your comfort and competence in sharing your points of view. You’ll also want to balance this with talking about how you listen to others, accept multiple perspectives and demonstrate empathy. In addition, you’ll want to be clear that you’re always open to feedback and continuously developing your communication skills.
For example, if you were answering a question about your communication style, you might say that you are confident to express your point of view, and then you also listen to others’ input, so you can get to the best solutions. You could also mention that you are intentional about when and how you communicate. And be sure to share a story or example that illustrates the effectiveness of your communication.
Questions About Expressing Yourself
Another area that interviewers may ask you about is how you share your thoughts, express your opinions and articulate your ideas. Examples of these kinds of questions include the following,
9. How do you share complex or complicated information so others can understand it?
10. What approach do you take to persuade others?
11. How strong are your presentation skills?
12. Can you talk about a presentation you did that went especially well?
13. In what ways do you deliver bad news to others?
14. How do you adjust your message based on who you’re talking to or presenting to?
15. Can you tell me about the strength of your writing skills?
16. What feedback have you received about your writing skills?
When you answer these kinds of questions, you’ll want to mention how you prepare and assess the audience and then describe the ways you ensure you are both concise and compelling in expressing yourself.
Questions About Listening
You may also be asked how you listen and stay open to others’ ideas. Questions could include the following.
17. What is your skill level in active listening?
18. What is your process to seek input from others?
19. To what extent are you able to listen to people who are different from you or disagree with you?
20. What feedback have you received about your listening skills?
When you answer these questions, you’ll want to emphasize how you respect others, value their input and avoid distractions so you can listen effectively.
Questions About Challenging Situations
In addition to questions about how you share your opinion and listen to others, you’ll likely also be asked about situations that are difficult or challenging—or that require more civility.
21. How do you handle conflict?
22. In what ways do you communicate with someone you disagree with?
23. Can you tell me about a time when you had to clarify a misunderstanding or repair a relationship?
24. Can you tell me about a time when your communication failed, and you had to adapt or recover?
25. How do you communicate sensitive information?
When you answer these questions, you’ll want to acknowledge that difficult situations crop up and how you are proactive and constructive in sharing information and resolving issues.
Answering Questions About Communication Skills
When you’re answering questions about communication skills, you’ll want to be clear and concise. It’s wise to share examples, rather than just sharing your philosophies about communication.
You can use the STAR interview method when you answer questions—sharing the situation you were in, the task you had to accomplish, the action you took and the results of your actions. Be sure to provide enough detail to demonstrate your behaviors and boost your credibility—at the same time you’re not oversharing or going on too long.
When you get an interview, you can shine in the process—by answering questions about communication skills in a way that is both compelling and memorable.