What are your closing statements after the interview asks each question?

[Padfoot]

I was practicing answering questions with my friend, specifically questions about my activities. I notice that I gave a description of the EC, said why it was important, and then trailed off. The general gist of my last sentence was "so..yeah, that's why it was a good experience". I know that the interviewer sometimes will cut you off, but how do you guys finish your response in a non-awkward way?

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[mnasir94]

Whenever I talked about past experiences I would generally just not close off. I'd usually just add a tid-bit at the end like 'my favorite part about this was X' or 'The most interesting thing I did with this was X' or 'it was really amazing to see that this experience taught me X,Y,Z'

 

[Spector1]

I would just end my sentence firmly. When you are done saying what you intend to say, then stop. Don't say anything more after that.

 

[studentdocftw]

"And that's all folks!" (assuming you are being interviewed by a panel)

 

[wagonwheel23]

End your sentences firmly. Closing statements to an answer are unnecessary and will not reflect well on you.

 

[Doug Underhill]

I don't think you should view your ECs as experiences with a defined beginning and conclusion. In my experience, at least, it leads to very unnatural speech and a poor overall presentation. You don't need to state why clinical volunteering is important.

Instead, be conversational about it. You can definitely give a formal description for a sentence or two about what you did, but an engaging anecdote could be far more valuable.

 

[Goro]

If you get cut off, it's usually for a good reason.

I was practicing answering questions with my friend, specifically questions about my activities. I notice that I gave a description of the EC, said why it was important, and then trailed off. The general gist of my last sentence was "so..yeah, that's why it was a good experience". I know that the interviewer sometimes will cut you off, but how do you guys finish your response in a non-awkward way?

 

[moemoekyun]

"Is there anything else you would like to know about X?"

 

[Lucca]

"...and that's how I saved Christmas"

 

[Doug Underhill]

"Is there anything else you would like to know about X?"

Don't answer this after every question. It's OK for one or two, but the road to post-II rejections is paved with repetitive speech patterns that contribute nothing to the discussion. When you get anxious during the interview, these patterns are a mental shortcut that you may find yourself taking. Resist the impulse.

I find that it is helpful to think of a few anecdotes in advance of the interview. "But, Doug", you say, "sounding rehearsed is bad! They reject for that!" A strong strategy is to be able to give a memorable example without sounding rehearsed. One tactic I used is to keep the topic on everyday clinical experiences. Talk about what you did during your last few patient interactions, even if it was something simple, and let the experience highlight why you would be a good doctor (without explicitly stating so- Do not say "and that's why I would be a good doctor". ) Remember, as pre-meds, we're legally not allowed to do that much in most clinical settings, so the small stuff is often the extent of our interactions.

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

I usually just take a bow.

 

[Dr. Death]

I ended a lot of my statements with ". . . So yeah." or "and yeah that's pretty much it" lol

 

[mistafab]

A good way to end your answer -> give your answer and stop there.

 

[IlyaR]

The end

 

[cantankerous]

You won't need to, unless you're not ending your sentences firmly. I would pay attention to inflection while you speak. You should end sentences with a lower tone instead of a high one.