Speech & Drama can help at interviews

I had the experience of going with my first son to an interview for university this week.  He had only applied to one place - he said it was the only  place that did exactly what he wanted!  So huge pressure and huge competition on all of us but particularly him.  When we drove to the university, I could feel his nerves; he was pale and quiet and felt sick.  So it made me think how can Speech and Drama help with interview nerves?

Here are my five top tips:

1  Relaxation.  Part and parcel of Speech and Drama is relaxation.  We teach our students about the voice and how it works.  Part of this is relaxing and learning to breath deeply.  This is a brilliant tool for calming nerves.  Learning to relax, having it as something which you can switch on when needed is an invaluable tool

2. Feeling comfortable speaking with an adult in a one to one environment.  We are rarely in this type of formal situation as young people.  Our work is often in groups and we are usually tested by written test. In any speech and drama exam we teach children how to answer questions, even answering them in character and they learn how to answer fully and with confidence. 

3. Using our imagination to understand how others feel and how we come across.  Often, students who are shy or slightly unconfident will find working on speeches and 'becoming' someone else helps them to understand what reactions to different behaviors can be.   They can learn how to LOOK confident through pretending to be someone else.

4. Part of the Speech and Drama exam is a discussion with the examiner.  We can prepare for this by looking at the subject and reading around it, having mock discussions and practising for the unknown.  This simulates an interview in a safe and reassuring environment.

5. Improvisation. In the later grades young people as asked to improvise with only a few minutes preparation time.  They learn to think on their feet, organise their thoughts and take risks. Some of these improvisations can be in groups and again if they go to any places which ask for group interviews or workshops this preparation will be invaluable to them. 

Take  the plunge - email me for recomendations....