[Interview] Rules of the Game: Multiple Mini Interviews

I think by now we all know what MMI is, if not, it's a lot like this:

Basically, this is like speed dating but with very serious dates who grade you not on your looks but on your character. (Hm... my own metaphor intrigues me... which type of dates would I prefer?)

The above is the official description. But like everything else med school-related, there are abundent myths surrounding the details of this interview process. Here is a list of them and what I gathered:

Myth: the interviewers are not allowed to respond to you in any way, including nodding. They are not allowed to say a word, so basically you are talking to a video camera with a human face.

What I gathered: the interviewers are not allowed to talk to you about anything unrelated to the question. But they can ask you things related to it, so to probe your thoughts and keep the conversation going. I think it's true that they are not allowed to nod though, so it would be kinda weird.

Myth: it's better to keep talking, because otherwise the room will fall silent and awkward.

What I gathered: if you run out of things to say, the room will fall silent and awkward. I have a friend who stopped talking and stared at the floor with the interviewer for 2 minutes until the time is up (the interviewer was not allowed to keep talking or write down notes in the presence of the interviewee, so he had nothing to do either). But I think that's better than rumbling on with the same thing over and over again and muddle your arguments.

Myth: there is nothing you can do to prepare for the MMI becaues you will never know what the questions are.

What I gathered: the skills to read the question under pressure, synthesize a well structured oral response in your head, and articulating your thoughts precisely and concisely may be much more demanding than you thought. It is actually quite easy to stare at the question prompt and waste your 2 minutes, and be completely confused and nervous in front of the interviewer.

My solution: practice with mock MMI's.