It’s no secret that applying for a job (especially a dream job) can cause major interview anxiety. It could be due to the looming possibility of rejection due to so much competition, but the more likely catalyst? Fear.

Fear has, at one point or another, stopped each and every one of us from pursuing something or succeeding at the thing we want most in this world. While anxiety may not be, at the end of the day embracing fear is a choice.

Will you choose to use your anxiety as fuel for success or continue to let it paralyze you?

Here are 3 things you can do in order to overcome those fears and nail every interview you attend. Lights, camera, action!

#1. Change your perspective

The way in which you frame an interview in your mind can be a direct factor in your association with the task itself. Instead of looking at this as a test, a quiz, something to pass or fail; instead look at it as the ultimate opportunity to show your true, best self!
Here’s a little trick I’ve picked up over the years: Think of yourself as a performance artist.

Not only does it make the process more fun, it leaves you room to experiment.

Another positive from this shift in perspective? It’s also an approach that engages your creativity and expressiveness. Think you have no express-ability? Think again! I bet you were really expressive on the freeway when that guy with the fire decals on the side and no muffler cut you off. Or when your favorite sports team won the big game.

DAMNIT, ADMIT IT! YOU’RE EXPRESSIVE!

Sorry. I got carried away.

As non-performance artist types, we tend to think the ability to express ourselves and “move” people is something only a true artist can tap into. How a singer gives you the goosebumps or an actor brings you to tears is actually something you can utilize – and you should!

What is Expressiveness?

Whether we know it or not, we are constantly expressing and receiving or understanding each other’s communication every day. If you’ve taken a business communication class in the last 10 years, you’ll learn this on the very first day.

The next thing you’ll learn? The Platinum Rule.

#2. The Platinum Rule

We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule, but what about the Platinum Rule? This rule advises that we ought to communicate with others in the way they’d like to communicate. Or, in other words employ the mirroring technique.

The mirroring technique has been touted by interview prep professionals for decades for all I know centuries. I bet you there were headhunters in the middle ages saying to their candidates, “If you want to be a blacksmith’s assistant you’re going to have to speak up!”

This tried and true method is utilized because it’s simply easier to focus on someone’s words rather than their body language when it’s employed.

In short, become a chameleon. Read the room. Evaluate your audience based on their communication style and adjust accordingly to get your desired effect.

#3. Practice makes perfect 

Another way of shifting your perspective in order to practice this chameleoning skill is to think of your inner self as a corporation.

You are the CEO of You Inc. And there are many moving parts, let’s call them departments, that work together in order to achieve your goals.

Each department will have a unique voice. For example the promotional or marketing department can have an authoritative, low-key trustworthy down-to-earth/authentic voice or even an energized, excited, enthusiastic voice to communicate passion.

Are you adjusting your style of communication for each individual audience? If not, it’s important to know that very few people can make one style work for every person or occasion – see John Wayne.

A great place to start practicing is with an evaluation of your own style of communication. Here are a few ideas on how to get started:

  • Record yourself
    • Audio and video
  • Hear what you sound like
  • See what your body language looks like
  • Write scripts that express different parts of yourself
  • Consider, who you’re coming across as
  • Ask for feedback from a neutral party

After you have an idea of where to start, develop your broad marketing portfolio of expressiveness – aka practice, practice, practice!

If you don’t like the way you sound or look (you’re not alone) this is your first red flag and you can likely assume that other people may have the same issues. Ultimately you’re left with a great starting point to make some adjustments and one step closer to your goal.

Confidence is Key

The first step to fearing less and selling more is CONFIDENCE!

Shifting your perspective, understanding and emulating different communication styles, and practicing until you’re comfortable will lead to more confidence in a process that used to overwhelm and intimidate.

When I was a comedian I did Jerry Lewis as an even more confused Hamlet, “To be or not to be – What was the question?”

That’s your starting point. Have fun with it!

Find the next steps, real life examples and a few personal notes I call Tom Talks as well as a few jokes to help the medicine go down in my recent book; Fear Less, Sell More.