possibility…

Whether you are the interviewee or the interviewer, your success will depend on how you communicate the ethereal glue … the emotion, passion, excitement, integrity, pride, and enthusiasm that flows between and around the words you use to express the facts. I’m talking about the atmospheric fog that can swirl through the discussion between two people. It’s what causes one person to lean forward with interest or to lean back and relax into a story. Without the ethereal glue–the story–the interview or meeting is dry, ordinary, less than memorable. Undoubtedly, both the interviewee and the interviewer are very interested in the facts–the qualifications, the salary etc. But the stories used to communicate the facts will always tip the scales.

Christian Buckley agrees. He says:
Both hiring manager and job candidate have a story to tell. The interview is just as much about the hiring manager telling a compelling story about why the candidate should want to come to work for that company, as it is about the candidate wanting to tell a compelling story about why she should be hired. People need to do more than answer simple questions, and provide basic responses–they need to provide a narrative around their experience. They need to engage the listener, express some passion, and make it a memorable experience. Whether interviewing for a job, talking to potential investors about your company or idea, or conducting a project meeting within your company–make sure your story is compelling, and people will pay attention.

[From “Mangosteens, Adhocracy and a Working Life: An Interview with Christian Buckley” by Aneeta Sundararaj on May 3, 2006. For the full interview, visit her website, How to Tell a Great Story]

Buckley was responding to a question from Sundararaj about what he meant when he wrote: “inteviewing is storytelling” on his blog called Life is Work (which unfortunately seems to be defunct) Read more from Buckley at buckleyPLANET: Musings on collaboration technology, marketing, and the evolving world of management).