Building Rapport and Questioning Techniques

Covering Assessment Criterion 2.3 of 3CO04, this video focuses on the interpersonal and questioning dimensions of conducting selection interviews. It addresses both verbal and non-verbal communication in an interview context, examining how factors such as tone, pace, body language, posture, eye contact and facial expression shape the candidate's experience and the quality of information gathered. Active listening is treated as a core interviewing skill alongside these communication elements, rather than as background knowledge.

The video gives detailed attention to the range of question types available to interviewers, covering open, closed, probing, leading and multiple questions, as well as competency-based questioning. Each type is considered in relation to when and why it might be used during a structured selection interview, and the video is clear about which approaches tend to yield the most useful evidence against selection criteria. Hypothetical questioning is also referenced within this broader examination of questioning strategy.

A significant portion of the video is devoted to competency-based interviewing and the STAR framework — Situation, Task, Action, Result — as a structured method for gathering and evaluating candidate responses. The video treats rapport-building not as a preliminary nicety but as an active technique that interviewers deploy from the moment a candidate arrives, influencing the depth and honesty of responses throughout the interview. Together, these topics form the practical foundation for participating effectively in both the interview itself and the subsequent decision-making process for an identified role.