Imagine you’re driving a road you’re unfamiliar with at night. You see a sign that indicates that there's a curvy road ahead. What do you do?
Your most likely reaction is to slow down! You see the sign, and ease off the gas, and ready your hands on the steering wheel to either turn left or turn right. The sign is there to help you understand what to anticipate.
What would happen if that sign wasn’t there to warn you? Well, you might have an accident!
Just as a “Dangerous Curve Ahead” and other road signs helps drivers safely operate their vehicles, there is a similar trick in communication that will help your listener (in this case, your interviewer) better understand your communication: signposting language.
What is Signposting Language?
Signposting language is language that announces the topic you’re going to describe, or alerts your listener to a transition between ideas. This type of language helps your interviewer anticipate what they'll be hearing soon.
There are two types of signposting language you’ll use in job interviews:
Language that tells your interviewer what you are about to describe, and
Language that indicates you’re transitioning from one idea to a new idea.
Signposting language is not language that describes your career, but language that describes the content of your answer. Let’s take a look at an example.
An Example of Signposting Language in Job Interview Answers
Let’s imagine you’ve been asked to describe your professional strengths. There are three strengths you’re going to describe: your leadership, your analytical abilities, and your ability to come up with creative solutions. First, let’s look at an answer that has no signposting language at all:
Question: Could you please describe your professional strengths?
“My strongest professional strength is my leadership. I have a proven track record of leading successful teams to deliver results. Another strength of mine would be my analytical abilities. I love solving problems through analysis - it’s kind of like solving a puzzle, before you put the puzzle together, you need to become familiar with the pieces. I would also say that my ability to come up with creative solutions is a professional strength. Part of being a problem solver is the ability to develop solutions, and I believe my ability to come up with creative solutions helps me as a problem solver.”
The answer is strong, but strong communication is easy to unpack. Unpacking this answer might involve some extra work, but we can make it easier for the interviewer if we involve some signposting language.
Let’s look at the same example, but this time with some signposting language.
Question: Could you please describe your professional strengths?
“I’d have to say that I have three top professional strengths: my leadership skills, my analytical abilities, and my ability to come up with creative solutions. First, my strongest professional strength is my leadership. I have a proven track record of leading successful teams to deliver results. A second strength of mine would be my analytical abilities. I love solving problems through analysis - it’s kind of like solving a puzzle, before you put the puzzle together, you need to become familiar with the pieces. Lastly, I would also say that my ability to come up with creative solutions is a professional strength. Part of being a problem solver is the ability to develop solutions, and I believe my ability to come up with creative solutions helps me as a problem solver.”
Although the content of the answer does not change at all, the second answer is much easier to follow. First, the speaker begins by listing the three strengths she will describe. This helps the interviewer understand that they should be listening for three key points. Second, the speaker uses language like “First,” “A second strength,” and “Lastly” to indicate a transition from the description of one strength to an additional strength. This helps the listener understand that the speaker has transitioned from one idea to another idea.
If you'd like to learn more, check out my post with 10 examples of signposting language that you can use in a job interview.
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