In this video, we will introduce the “No Hesitation, Deviation or Repetition” exercise, which is also referred to as “Just a Minute” exercise. This exercise is the most beneficial one you’ll ever practice. Believe me. I’ve seen it work COUNTLESS TIMES – especially with individuals who are uncomfortable in the interviewing hot seat – and I guess that means EVERYONE! The “Just a Minute” exercise facilitates free-flowing thoughts and speech so that you can practice being simultaneously receptive of the interviewer’s questions and body language, and engaging to the interviewer – and capture their special attention. Let me put it another way – the objective of this exercise is to learn how to ‘put out’ and ‘take in’ information at the same time – during an job interview – or while engaged in any kind of challenging or stressful conversation.

The trick is to speak about any random topic. The subject can be anything at all – umbrellas, summer vacation, movies, music or whatever. Now here’s the trick: you must speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition. The only word you are allowed to repeat is the subject. This is so that you train your brain to think fluidly: to avoid humming and hawing, pausing, saying the ‘um’ word or generally losing track of where you are going. It will also teach you to feel just how long a minute is.

While being interviewed, as was mentioned before, many people make the mistake of rambling, and losing focus. The last thing you want in a job interview is a bored and disinterested interviewer. This exercise will help you to learn to speak ‘on your feet’ in any stressful situation.

The instant you feel yourself hesitate – even a little bit, say um or uh or any such “sound”, you must stop immediately. Once again, as in the estimating a minute exercise, time yourself… and see how far you get. It’s also a good idea to record yourself – that way it simulates the pressure you’re under in a job interview when there’s another pair of eyes and ears watching you VERY closely. And also, it’s a good idea to play your recording back to yourself to A: listen to how you sound and B: to check if you weren’t humming or hawing – and weren’t aware of it. In my experience, about 30% of individuals aren’t even AWARE of how much they hesitate in their speech! So lets’ begin. Pick a topic – let’s say it’s “Sports”. Get your stopwatch/and or recording device ready… and go!!! – I’ll be right here when you’re done.

To view other videos in the “Marketing You” Video Series about marketing yourself to employers and recruiters please view Introduction to Marketing You, Success and Creative Visualization, 60 Second Pitch,  Job Interview Tips, Resume Writing and Resume Cover Letters videos. The next video in this series is The Most Popular Interview Question- Tell Me About Yourself?.

You may also want to download one of our Marketing You FREE E-books or visit our vast Resources Section including Tax Tip Videos and the Interview Coach articles.