Posted By steven n I have an interview tomorrow for a role as a safety advisor for a consultancy. The problem is I get very nervous and stuttery (is that a word?) even though I am qualified and experienced. Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy As I am firmly of the oppinion that good communication skills are an integral part of the Safety advisor Role you do indeed have a major problem. Sadly confidence cannot be bought from the local shop and not many people know how to overcome this. I ran a training course recently where we concentrated on lack of confidence , nerves at interview etc and the common denominator was lack of practice. My advice would be to practice your interview techniques with a colleague, although as the interview is tomorrow you arent giving yourself the best opportunity. Good Luck

Posted By VJM Hi Steven, I'm with CFT. I'm not a stutterer when nervous, but I do tend to do the um's a lot. When someone pointed out to me the pausing technique, it really helped. Give it a shot and Good Luck!!! VJM

Posted By Darren (Daz) Fraser First of all, all the very best of luck for your interview. You know your subject, they feel you may be the right person for the role, hence the interview. I am sure you have been advised in the past with regard to calming techniques to help you with your stutter, if not 1. Relax as much as is possible, arrive early at the location, and sit in the car until 5 minutes before your appointment - therefore not rushing to be there and putting yourself under pressure. 2. If offered accept or ask for a glass of water, this will allow you time to think and keep your throat lubricated. 3. If unsure of anything or do not understand ask for clarification, again this allows you time to think but also demonstrates that you will ask for clarification before answering. If you do stutter during the interview, just stop and take a minute or two to compose yourself, I find the worst thing for me is if I try to continue, that minute or two allows me to relax, think and then continue. If you can keep your nerves under control, then you stand a good chance of not being affected, I have found that if I become absorbed in the process, my stutter disappears altogether. Once again all the very best for tomorrow and keep us informed of how you get on.

Posted By Ian G Hutchings Hi Steven Sometimes I find that deep breathing exercises help me. Take a deep breath and then hold it and count to five. Do this a few times and I find it helps bring the pulse down a bit. The other approach I use is to try and convince myself that I enjoy the sensation of being nervous. Some people pay a fortune for uppers; why bother when you can enjoy the nerves that go with interviews and presentations! Obviously avoid coffee and caffeine in general, especially 'energy drinks' - unless you want the resting heart rate of a serial killer! Best of luck Ian

Posted By steven n Thanks for the responses guys I will let you know how I got on. One thing I wont do is drink a gallon of red bull and run in screaming!

Posted By Andy Petrie i have a nervous disorder which means my hands shake, add the stress of an interview and this can be quite bad (coffee everywhere). the thing is practice, apply for loads of jobs, especially ones you don't want. You get really good practice when you're at an interview and you are not bothered about the job as this takes loads of stress off you and will stand you in good stead when you need it. not much use for tomorrow but good luck anyway

Posted By steven n Just a quick update, I followed all your good advice and all went very well so fingers crossed...