Public Speaking and Med School Interview

[ShySpliceosome]

For those of you who have been interviewed at a medical school and have also taken a public speaking class, would you say the public speaking class greatly improved your communication skills required for the interview?

I am a very shy person by nature, and I will probably be interviewed without any previous public speaking/interpersonal communication class. However, I have given several oral presentations in various science and English classes, and received good scores on all of them. I can speak in public if I push myself to do so, but I don't know how promptly and effectively I can respond to questions when being "put on the spot", which I know is crucial in any kind of interview.

I just wondered if public speaking classes are really valuable in preparing for med school interviews. Thanks!

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[Sassafrass23]

Couldn't hurt! If you have the available time to take such a course it sounds like it would be good for you in general, not just for interview purposes. You definitely want to be comfortable talking with strangers as you won't know your interviewer before walking in the room.

 

[TangoDown]

I haven't interviewed with Med Schools, but I am currently taking a Speech class as a GE. I think most of the techniques thus far can be learned through common sense or some research, but practicing on people you don't know (many people in your class) offers a good incentive to take it.

Best tips I can give is going into an interview with as many optimistic thoughts as possible, and treating your nervousness not as a negative response to the situation, but a result of enthusiasm. As cheesy as it sounds, it really works. Also understand that virtually all people are nervous when they interview/speak to an audience, regardless of how many times they've done it - and many are extremely nervous. Little flubs you make during the speech, or physiological responses you feel will most likely not be noticed by the audience. It's only when you start to become overtly neurotic about them that you can start to spiral downward, and that's where the positive thoughts come in.

 

[Ichiban88]

Honestly, I don't think it really helps for med school interviews but will be very fruitful in the future. I had to learn the hard way and wished i took classes on it.

 

[PDXJen]

A public speaking course is a terrific idea. I joined my Toastmasters club at work, and it has been invaluable.

In preparing for med school interviews, however, I found it more helpful to have someone I don't know very well give me a mock interview. I asked a physician at work to do this, and she gave me great feedback. If you're still in school, your career services department may offer a mock interview opportunity.

 

[pre med 2014]

I think it would be more time effective to find a service that coaches you for a med school interview. If you are scared of getting stuck on the spot, practice answering questions that can come up in a med school interview rather than random questions in general.

 

[ShySpliceosome]

Thanks guys for your positive feedback! I am going to be taking a public speaking class next year, just not before my potential interviews 🙂

I haven't interviewed with Med Schools, but I am currently taking a Speech class as a GE. I think most of the techniques thus far can be learned through common sense or some research, but practicing on people you don't know (many people in your class) offers a good incentive to take it.

Best tips I can give is going into an interview with as many optimistic thoughts as possible, and treating your nervousness not as a negative response to the situation, but a result of enthusiasm. As cheesy as it sounds, it really works. Also understand that virtually all people are nervous when they interview/speak to an audience, regardless of how many times they've done it - and many are extremely nervous. Little flubs you make during the speech, or physiological responses you feel will most likely not be noticed by the audience. It's only when you start to become overtly neurotic about them that you can start to spiral downward, and that's where the positive thoughts come in.

I don't think it sounds cheesy at all! And I agree; high-quality content usually overshadows any small mistakes. Good advice! 👍

A public speaking course is a terrific idea. I joined my Toastmasters club at work, and it has been invaluable.

In preparing for med school interviews, however, I found it more helpful to have someone I don't know very well give me a mock interview. I asked a physician at work to do this, and she gave me great feedback. If you're still in school, your career services department may offer a mock interview opportunity.

Thank you for the great advice...I'm going to look into that!

I think it would be more time effective to find a service that coaches you for a med school interview. If you are scared of getting stuck on the spot, practice answering questions that can come up in a med school interview rather than random questions in general.

That's a really good idea, I'm definitely going to try that 👍

 

[thesauce]

A public speaking course is a terrific idea. I joined my Toastmasters club at work, and it has been invaluable...

I agree. Toastmasters has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life.

 

[iave9963]

My $0.02.

My sister is the president of her toastmaster's club so I joined to help her with a much needed secretary positions. It's ironic, I think the interviews have helped me become a better public speaker, although I took public speaking my sophomore year. But I think joining toastmasters overall is a great idea, minus the fees

 

[mcatforme]

I myself am a shy person, and used to dread speeches/interviews. Now, I don't worry about them at all. What I found to help me the most wasn't taking these extra classes, but rather just putting yourself out there. Going to these mock interviews, and also interviewing at many jobs/internships helps to boost your confidence as well as practice.

Coming from someone who classified myself as shy in the past, I think that the worst thing you can do is to say you're shy and to be scared of interviews. Doing well on an interview is all about being confident in your abilities not only from your experiences, but also in your speech. If you are fearful of interviews, it will show. If you have already told yourself that you don't like them or aren't good at them, you won't be good at them. Don't every classify yourself as shy. I realize now that that was just my excuse for not putting myself out there as much. Be confident and don't worry about anything else. I know that you'll be fine.

 

[kael]

I think that doing some mock interviews with either a coach or someone that you trust is a great idea to help you build confidence. I know what you mean about dreading public speaking and interviews; I have a stutter that tends to intensify in these types of situations. The key in my opinion is to feel confident in yourself and what you are saying. You would be surprised at how far that will take you. 🙂

 

[Vikes33]

Just a general question, swear I'm not being a troll just being curious. Since a huge part of medicine is being able to communicate effectively with strangers on a daily basis, how do you expect to deal with that? I can completely understand nerves for interviews of this magnitude, but what about after that when actually a doctor? Do any of you feel that would be an issue? I'm a little shy and sometimes worry about whether or not it would become a problem in medicine.

 

[BabyDoc86]

This thread made me laugh. The best practice I got for my med school interviews was to go on many job interviews--the questions were a lot more varied so I felt prepared for anything. What skills I got from my public speaking class five years ago didn't help at all, as most of those courses are a gen ed joke anyway.