Question: Describe a time when you had to explain or teach a complex idea to a coworker or customer.

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Describe a situation where you had to explain something complex to a colleague or a client.

Follow-up questions:

What was the idea? What happened?
Which problems did you encounter and how did you deal with them?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Speaking,Social – Coordination (Adjusting one’s own actions in relation to others),Social – Instructing (Teaching),Social – Rapport Buiding/Relating and Connecting with others

Abilities:

Cognitive – Oral Comprehension,Cognitive – Oral Expression

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Coaching and Developing Others,Interacting with Others – Communicating with Persons Outside Organization,Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Interacting with Others – Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships,Interacting with Others – Provide Consultation and Advice to Others,Interacting with Others – Training and Teaching Others

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Interpersonal Relationships – Deal With External Customers

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Adaptability/Flexibility,Approachability,Attention to Detail

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking for the candidate’s educating skills.
Did the candidate use appropriate simple life examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of their training.
Did the candidate seek confirmations from time to time to ensure they were understood correctly.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the candidate picks an example of a very simple technique or concept to answer the question.
If the candidate sounds too confident about their teaching style, but the example do not coincide.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: Unknown