About this document
Often, people think the strongest interview strategy is to research the ‘best’ answers to common questions and commit them to memory. But this is risky – not only because the interviewer might not even ask those questions. If other candidates have done the same thing, how can you stand out from the crowd? To demonstrate that you’re the best person for the position, it’s useful to follow a technique known as C.A.R (context, action, result). It’s the secret to great storytelling, which makes your answers personal, memorable, and convincing.
This module on 3 Steps to Answering (Almost) Any Question explores how to use C.A.R and formulating winning answers to interview questions.
This document provides an overview of each of the learning activities featured in this programme, including:
Content Overview
The complete journey takes the learner through 4 interactive topics led by virtual coaches Ashley and Abeeku, as well as ancillary activities such as onboarding, self-reflection, and the exit survey.
It is a linear experience, meaning the learner will be guided step by step through all the activities by the coaches.
We recommend that learners fully interact with each activity to get the full benefit.
It is estimated that each topic will take the learner approximately 5-10 minutes to complete, although completion times vary depending on whether the learner chooses to repeat topics to explore different options (encouraged) or to fine-tune their freeform responses.
Learner Journey
Key programme-level objective and goals
Learning Outcome
Demonstrate suitability for a role using the C.A.R. technique
Learning Goals
![White bullseye icon on a dark blue background.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Tutor%20Notes%20and%20Journal%20Entries/Icons_Tutor%20Notes/Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png?width=84&height=84&name=Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png)
The secret to great storytelling
![White bullseye icon on a dark blue background.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Tutor%20Notes%20and%20Journal%20Entries/Icons_Tutor%20Notes/Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png?width=84&height=84&name=Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png)
See C.A.R. in context
![White bullseye icon on a dark blue background.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Tutor%20Notes%20and%20Journal%20Entries/Icons_Tutor%20Notes/Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png?width=84&height=84&name=Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png)
Tell your own stories
![White bullseye icon on a dark blue background.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Tutor%20Notes%20and%20Journal%20Entries/Icons_Tutor%20Notes/Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png?width=84&height=84&name=Learning%20Goals_Icon_Target.png)
Communicate clearly
A word about terminology
As a medium, Virtual Reality is not best suited to didactic teaching methods.
However, our intention is that all Bodyswaps modules follow a student-centred constructivist pedagogy. This means creating rich experiences in which learners can explore key concepts and ideas and reach their own conclusions.
This is why our documents speak in terms of learning goals and outcomes, rather than measurable ‘learning objectives’ (a la Bloom’s Taxonomy) per se.
Characters
![Character Abeeku, a male figure virtual coach with brown skin, wearing a purple polo shirt, and dark pants.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Abeeku%20-%20virtual%20coach.png?width=200&height=400&name=Abeeku%20-%20virtual%20coach.png)
Abeeku
Virtual coach
![Character Ashley in an orange suit sitting in a wheelchair.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Ashley.png?width=199&height=406&name=Ashley.png)
Ashley
Virtual coach
Environments
![Environment tutor room with blue armchairs, wooden coffee table, shelving with TV displaying](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Tutor%20room.png?width=398&height=211&name=Tutor%20room.png)
Tutor Room - Bodyswaps HQ
The mentors’ private office space where the learner receives onboarding and tutoring.
![Environment breakout room with 3 blue chairs, round table, bar counter with stools, kitchen area, plants and hexagonal wall art.](https://support.bodyswaps.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Breakout%20Room.png?width=403&height=211&name=Breakout%20Room.png)
Breakout Room
Office kitchen / open space for semi-formal/informal conversations around small tables and private booths.
Meeting room
A small, private meeting room for formal discussions and presentations.
Pre Module Activity
Build a story bank
Anyone can claim to have a particular strength, but it won’t get you very far in an interview unless you can prove it with some well-thought through examples. This is where your story bank comes in.
Starting with the strengths you identified in Exercise 2, think about 3-5 true stories that illustrate those qualities. These might relate to a meaningful experience or collaboration at work, a challenge that you overcame, an award that you received, or an achievement that you’re proud of.
The more stories you put into your story bank, the easier you’ll find it to think on your feet and answer whatever questions the interviewer throws at you in a winning way.
In this module, you’ll discover how to turn those stories into your most compelling evidence that you’re the best person for the job.
Onboarding
Purpose
Familiarise learners with the controls and navigation
Location
Characters
Ashley and Abeeku (virtual coaches)
Duration
*Varies depending on the learner's choices and interactions
A generic onboarding sequence is provided as standard with virtual coaches Abeeku and Ashley.
The first time learners use Bodyswaps, this onboarding sequence familiarises them with the features of the app, takes them through an avatar selection and embodiment activity, and prepares them for the experience to come.
In the onboarding, learners will:
- Find out how this training is different from the rest
- Select their avatar
- Discover their virtual journal
- Learn how to navigate and use the tools and settings
Introduction and self-reflection
Purpose
Introduce the module and reflect on current confidence levels before beginning the activities
Location
Characters
Duration
*Varies depending on the learner's choices and interactions
To begin the module, virtual coaches Ashley and Abeeku explain that a common mistake people make is thinking they should memorise model answers to interview questions. A far more effective strategy, which they’ll show the learner throughout the training, is the C.A.R. technique.
They set out the goals for the module, and introduce the different activities they’ll be guiding the learner through in the module.
Then, they invite the learner to complete a short likert-style self-reflection survey, to indicate how confident they feel about the following key learning points:
- Knowing what to say
- Structuring their answers for the biggest impact
- Communicating with confidence
These self-reflection questions will be repeated in the debrief at the end, to assess how the learner’s confidence levels have changed.
Note: If you wish to receive data about how the learner’s confidence levels have changed as a consequence of the training, It is important that they complete this introduction and the debrief at the end.
The secret to great storytelling
Purpose
Learn to identify context, action and results statements
Location
Breakout room
Characters
Ashley and Abeeku
Journal
Duration
*Varies depending on the learner's choices and interactions
Ashley and Abeeku tell the learner the secret to great storytelling: the C.A.R. framework. Formulating interview answers with C.A.R (context, action, result) helps you to showcase your work experience in a way that leaves the interviewer with no doubt that you’re a great fit.
They walk the learner through each step:
- Context - setting the stage, such as what your role was, where you worked, what the situation or problem was, and so on.
- Action - what you did to address the challenge or opportunity, what ideas you had, what initiative you took, etc.
- Result - how did your actions pay off? What did you achieve? How did it benefit the team or the wider company?
To help the learner feel more familiar with each part, Ashley reads out different components from two example interview answers. But she doesn’t reveal which part of C.A.R. she’s applied. Instead, she invites the learner to see if they can tell whether she was describing the context, action, or result.
She reassures them that it can be tricky to wrap your head around how each part of C.A.R. can look at first, but with practise it will become clearer.
Applying CAR to different questions
Purpose
See the C.A.R. technique in action
Location
Meeting room
Characters
Ashley and Abeeku
Journal
Duration
6:57
*Varies depending on the learner's choice and interactions
C.A.R. can be applied to almost any question. The trick is to think about what the interview wants to learn from your answer, and then use C.A.R. to build it around that.
In this activity, Ashley and Abeeku show this in action. The learner plays the role of the interviewer, and can choose from various questions that they’d like to see Abeeku answer with the C.A.R. framework, such as:
- What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made?
- Do you believe in bigfoot?
- What is your greatest accomplishment?
- If you were a box of cereal, what would you be?
- What do you and your boss disagree about?
As Abeeku shares his answer, a TV screen behind him highlights whether he is describing the context, action, or result. Ashley follows up with insights into how Abeeku’s responses helped him craft compelling answers – including to difficult or curveball questions that can often be hard to answer.
The learner is prompted to ask Abeeku a minimum of three questions, but they can ask up to nine if they wish to see him demonstrate more examples.
Your story bank
Purpose
Start preparing stories for your story bank
Location
Tutor room
Characters
Ashley and Abeeku
Journal
Duration
3:29
*Varies depending on the learner's choice and interactions
Anyone can claim to have a particular strength in interviews, but you’ve got to be prepared to back this up with well-thought out examples. Building up a story bank helps you do exactly that.
For this freeform activity, the learner practises sharing stories that illustrate their strengths, such as a time they collaborated on a project or overcame a challenge. They don’t need to follow C.A.R. for this – it’s purely to get them thinking of relevant examples that back up their answers.
They’ll receive some prompts on screen and in their journal to help them come up with more stories, and they can tell as many as they like.
This is helpful practise for real life, as the more the learner can put into their story bank, the easier they’ll find it to think on their feet and answer questions when going into real interviews.
Practising with C.A.R.
Purpose
Practise using the C.A.R. technique to answer interview questions
Location
Meeting room
Characters
Abeeku and Ashley
Journal
Duration
6:42
*Varies depending on the learner's choice and interactions
Now that the learner has seen examples of C.A.R. and added stories to their storybank, this is their chance to practise using the technique for themselves.
For this final activity, Ashley and Abeeku invite the learner to answer some interview questions, and remind them to draw from the storybank they just built up.
There are six interview questions in total that the learner can answer, but it’s up to them how many they want to attempt. Abeeku also offers to give a model answer for each question, if they’d like to refresh their memory of how C.A.R. looks.
The learner delivers their answer in their own voice, and after speaking they can bodyswap into one of the coaches to listen back to their response. Then, AI-enabled analytics will provide some feedback about their delivery, including speaking speed, filler words, hand gestures, and eye contact.
Debrief
Purpose
Debrief the learner upon completion of the training and prompt self-reflection
Location
Tutor room
Characters
Abeeku and Ashley
Journal
Duration
*Varies depending on the learner's choices and interactions
Abeeku and Ashley congratulate the learner for completing their journey through this course, and provide some closing thoughts on how C.A.R. helps you stand out with well-crafted, story-driven interview answers.
Now, they’re invited to take the same likert-style survey from the beginning, to encourage the learner to reflect and self-report on their confidence levels following completion of the training.
The questions relate to how confident they now feel about the key learning points:
- Knowing what to say
- Structuring their answers for the biggest impact
- Communicating with confidence
Exit survey
Purpose
Assess the effectiveness of the training itself
Location
N/A
Characters
Journal
Duration
0:15
*Varies depending on the learner's choices and interactions
Before the learner leaves the module, they are asked to complete a short survey about their experience.
This survey is not compulsory, but the data helps us to assess the effectiveness of our product and identify any areas that need improvement. Clients also find it beneficial when assessing ROI.
They are asked to mark whether they agree or disagree with the following statements, on a 10 point scale:
- I would recommend this experience to others
- The experience helped me identify elements I could improve upon
- I now have a better understanding of how to manage interview anxiety.
Post Module Activity
Practice, practice, practice!
Find a friend or someone who is also looking for a job and take it in turns to ask each other interview questions.
Practise answering using the C.A.R. technique and give one another feedback on how you did.
Or, if you’re practising alone, record yourself using your phone and play it back, making notes on how you could improve your answer.
Rinse and repeat!