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instruction and advice. But answering questions correctly, confidently, competently, completely, consistently, compassionately, and concisely is no easy task. With the proper structure, substance, and style, you can prevent your answers from becoming off-track ramblings. |
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Tip 513: Use the SEER technique. |
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Does this after-game interview between jock and reporter sound familiar? "What was your single biggest mistake in today's game?" the reporter asks. |
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"Well, we had problems, that's for sure. Some difficulty running the ball, that's for sure. The other side was out there where we should have been. We made some mistakes all right. They cost us some points. Our passing was just so-so. And blocking was a problem. They just beat usthat's all there is to it. They outplayed us." |
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So what's the biggest mistake? Who knows? The same rambling occurs when politicians meet the press or bosses confront employees about performance. To avoid having your listener walk away with a vague sense of "nothing said," try using the SEER technique, a format we devised to train executives to use in our oral presentation workshops. |
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The SEER technique is an organizational format for structuring your answers so that the answers are clear, concise, authoritative, and memorable*: |
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Give a one-sentence summary of your answer or position. |
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Elaborate on that answer with the appropriate details: who, when, where, why, how, how much. |
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Give a concrete example to make the abstract ideas clear, usable, and memorable. |
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End with a one-sentence restatement of your answer or position. |
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Here's an example. Your prospective customer asks, "Does your company really care about the small customer?" |
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Summary. Yes, most definitely, we care about small customers. They keep us in business. |
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Elaboration. In fact, 70 percent of our volume comes from accounts that we've labeled "small business." We'd rather have 100 customers doing $50 to $75 a month with us than to have one customer doing half |
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* Reprinted from Executive's Portfolio of Model Speeches by Dianna Booher. |
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