Many youngsters have a lackadaisical attitude towards the correct use of language. “Isn’t conveying one’s thoughts enough? Why stress on minute aspects of language?” they ask. Believing that they won’t go wrong, such youths speak in whatever manner they wish in job interviews.
However, to score high marks in competitive examinations, language has to be used in the proper manner. Several tests include questions on pointing out mistakes in English and the regional language.
In descriptive exams, apart from writing without grammatical errors, candidates need to be concise, precise and to the point. The answers need to be completed on time also. For all this, good command over the language is necessary. Moreover, the ability to write clearly and accurately needs to be developed. All this cannot be achieved in a day, but youths have to give stress to every small matter regarding language.
Good speech
While a candidate has to be convincing in the written exam, he or she has to have good speaking skills too to clear interviews.
It is common to see may job aspirants struggling to present their point of view in an interview as they lack the necessary conversational abilities. It is a sad situation in which the candidate may have the necessary knowledge but cannot put it into words.
Most interviews may last not more than seven minutes. In such a short time, unless the candidate speaks well and presents his or her views crisply, he may lose out on the score. In fact, many youngsters resort to the use of flowery language while others stammer and grope for the right word during interviews, affecting their chances.
Common mistakes
There is a large section that starts speaking with words such as ‘Actually, Basically, As you know, I think’ etc. Moreover, candidates keep repeating these terms during an interview.
Other expressions that can be avoided include ‘There is no doubt that, I am sure Sir, I shall explain it’ and ‘If you ask me whether’.
Such factors become crucial in group discussions and other interactive sessions when the most number of points have to be presented in the least possible time.
Another wrong tendency is to attempt long sentences while speaking and end up without a clue on where they had started. The solution for this is speaking in short sentences. While writing too, presenting only one idea in a paragraph helps readers understand all points easily.
For making all this possible, youngsters have to develop the habit of reading, writing and speaking in the correct language. They also have to accept the fact that mistakes could occur and be willing to correct themselves.
Some candidates belonging to Kerala use English and Malayalam in the proper manner while writing and speaking. However, others have the tendency to speak English in the writing style. Still others say words such as ‘Please, Thank you, Sorry’ etc. in English and switch to their mother tongue for the rest of the sentence. A large number of people mix English and the local language words while speaking. While such talk is harmless in daily life, during interview, group discussion and official meetings after gaining employment, it may prove to be counter-productive.