Ask the Expert Dr. Kathleen Wells is a professional career coach and Director of Coaches That Care. She has coached thousands of clients through the stages of successful career development. Interviewing Question: I am attending a 2nd interview for an important post which I would like. They have sent me a question to prepare a briefing for their board on how to develop the skills and knowledge of their board members at individual and at corporate level. I think they may have some difficult board members from my 1st interview and I believe they may be looking how well I can cope and persuade them. Do you have any suggestions as to my approach when I do my presentation (of 15 minutes). J.W. Answer: These second interviews are always stressful so you need to be as prepared as possible going in. It sounds a bit tricky since you are supposed to tell them how to develop skills and knowledge in board members you suspect may be difficult. My approach would be to tell them how you would use the current skills, methods and knowledge base while maintaining an open-minded, safe environment for growth. If you have specific ideas on how to open up discussions, allow for training seminars, and means to facilitating this growth in a non-judgmental way, that would help. We all have knowledge that is valuable so if you have some difficult board members you must be sure in your presentation that you respect what they currently have and want to use it as a base to go forward. Keep your presentation logically organized, easy to follow, positive and upbeat. Be totally open and non-judgmental. If you let them know your value what they already possess, you should be able to persuade them to try new things as well. Good luck!