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THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE SOLELY THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Martin Gilbert was Winston Churchill's official biographer. Every so often, as he was working on the biography, he would make a presentation to the doctoral students and faculty of the Department of International Relations of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I was privileged to attend a few of those lectures.
The first I attended was memorable for how bad it was. The only thing he told us that we didn't already know was that Churchill would approve military plans, or anything else for that matter, by making a red checkmark in pencil next to the suggestion. We were all shocked. How could Churchill's official biographer be such a terrible a speaker?
Fast forward a few months and the man was back. Same man. Same general topic. The only difference was, this time, and all future times, the man was brilliant. The talk was fascinating, informative and engaging.
I remember, after the second talk, asking one of my professors how the difference could be so stark. His explanation, "Everyone is entitled to have a bad day."
If an official biographer can have a bad day, so can a job candidate at an interview. There's just one difference: the biographer has a reputation which will guarantee an invitation to return. Not so much for most job applicants. If a job applicant is having a bad day, it's going to be a very bad day as far as their career goes.
Which brings me to the OODA Loop. It's an acronym (Yes, I remember writing about how I hate acronyms!) used in the US Air Force. It's a four-step decision making process developed by Colonel John Boyd for "dog fights," meaning plane-to-plane combat. (If I get anything incorrect, I invite USAF members and veterans to correct me in the Comments section.)
With planes being flying computers, today pilots probably don't have too much more than a second to perform an OODA Loop. (In Colonel Boyd's day, they probably had a few seconds.) But it has nothing to do with an actual loop, flipping the plane over, a 360-degree turn, to avoid or "capture" the enemy. It's the process of deciding what to do instantaneously. Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. That's your OODA Loop.
When I first began offering Career Counseling Services (No, this is not going to become a commercial! And shame on you for thinking I would do that!!!) I did what I always do, I researched. I was surprised to learn that "Public Speaking," for some people, includes talking to a single person. Think of a sales call. I had always thought it was speaking in front of an audience consisting of multiple people. Not so! Some people are just as nervous speaking to one stranger as some are speaking from a stage to a thousand (which, physically, they would not be able to do That's why it's called "stage fright.")
Regardless, if the speech/presentation does not go well, it is not the fault of the audience. The presenter has the responsibility of relaying their message and convincing the audience to act in a certain way. If they fail, it is their fault and no one else's.
To be fair, a job interview can be perfect. The candidate can be flawless and still not get the job offer. There can be 1,001 reasons why the offer is not given. That is a fact of life far too many candidates refuse to accept. If they did not get the job offer, they honestly believe, it must be discrimination. Not so!
A candidate can only control what is in their control. That's it. If they are not prepared to discuss what they know about the employer, the details of the job description, and to answer surprise questions, they do not deserve to get the offer.
One of the major mistakes presenters make is not "reading" their audience. I once had someone walk out on a presentation I was making (I hasten to add, to a standing-room-only crowd) as soon as I thanked everyone for coming. My response, as he was approaching the door, in response to the stares of the audience, was to say, "Usually people only start walking out after I have actually say something!" Everyone laughed but the man at the door got the final say in just two words, "Bad burrito." Then I also laughed.
I had read the crowd correctly and realized they thought having someone leave like that would bother me. Joking about it replaced the tension in the room with a relaxed atmosphere. Another time I saw I was "losing" the audience. No one had actually physically left the room, but they were looking at their phones and watches. Never a good thing. So, I stopped the planned presentation and began to tell stories that explained the points I was clearly failing to make. The phones went into the pockets and the eyes moved from the watches to me.
I observed. I oriented myself. I made a decision. I acted. No, it was not the heat of battle, but it was the pressure of all those eyes on me. And, of course, the only death I faced was of possible embarrassment. But that does not mean that OODA is not a good strategy in an interview. It is, in fact, a very good strategy.
The best example I can give, and it is a habit that can take some time, and a lot of patience for people to break, is simply talking too much. I can't tell you how many candidates for whom I have secured interviews simply forgot what I had diplomatically told them: "Don't talk too much." So, to make it unforgettable, I stopped being diplomatic, they no longer forget my instructions, and some actually got job offers: You talk too much. Make your point and shut up! And they remembered, successfully read the audience, the interviewers, and realized there was a problem when they, the interviewers, would start fidgeting. So, they regained control - which is all you need for a successful presentation be it in the interview room, on stage, or in the cockpit.
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