First time MMI, some logistics questions for those who took it

[TurnOfTheScrew]

I was wondering, when you have a discussion station, that is not actively role playing, should you just go on a stream of consciousness type response and give your thoughts, or should you involve the interviewer too. Like ask them questions, wait for the answer etc. Would you prompt/involve them as you go, or will they interject naturally as you give your opinion on a matter?

And if it’s role playing with an actor, should you avoid long monologues and passive talk, and be more involved in the form of asking questions and replying to concerns? Again, should you look to involve the actor in the discussion as much as possible or will they just naturally interject. Of course I don’t mean you should just rapid fire without breathing, but should you be looking to give them prompts and ask them a lot of questions at the beginning before going into the assessment of the situation and rambling on too much?

Also, I assume there must be some sort of buzzer for the timer. If you finish early and there is some awkward silence should you just stay there and embrace it or make small talk or something along those lines.

Also for etiquette, should you try to shake hands when you enter the station, or is just saying hello and introducing yourself enough? What is the stance on this?

What about when exiting, is just saying something like “goodbye” or “thank you for your time enough” or should you shake hands again as you go. Thinking this is overkill, but wanted to see what people thought. 

And does anyone have a link to any videos that show a scenario/demo of how an actual station would go? Like walking in, introductions, etc. i.e. an actual mock scenario. Most of the videos I see it’s just someone dissecting a question, not a natural interaction or how a station would be like.

[Bambi]

 

[TurnOfTheScrew]

6 hours ago, Bambi said:

 

 

Yes, I went over that, but don't get why it has its body written in the form of hyperlinks (are they supposed to lead somewhere?), and all the links at the beginning are broken. It's a bit hard to follow and should be updated. 

In any case, my questions were more specific as how one approaches and guides the interaction in the discussion type question, not the content itself. Same for the role playing, whether the replies should be kept concise and more geared toward creating a dialogue, or giving longer more thoughtful/opinionated answers that do not cater as much to the interaction with the actor.

Of course people are going to have different thoughts on this, but just wanted to hear some opinions. 

[Anon-e-mous]

I have experience interviewing for two different schools using the MMI. These are my (limited) opinions having prepped with other students for these interviews:

8 hours ago, TurnOfTheScrew said:

I was wondering, when you have a discussion station, that is not actively role playing, should you just go on a stream of consciousness type response and give your thoughts, or should you involve the interviewer too. Like ask them questions, wait for the answer etc. Would you prompt/involve them as you go, or will they interject naturally as you give your opinion on a matter?

Depends on how you organize your response. I used the stream of consciousness method but my thoughts were not probably not presented the best and I was unsuccessful. You have 6-8 minutes ish to talk. You should give your response in an organized manner that makes sense. So a stream of consciousness may not work for everyone, you may need to add some structure to your answer without sounding rehearsed. When you stop talking they will usually ask standard follow up questions. So it's not really interjecting naturally, more superficially so everyone more or less has the same experience. They will not give an answer to your response for the same reason. You can ask questions to clarify the scenario or make sure they understand what you're saying. Just don't ask anything unprofessional for being in an MMI context.
 

8 hours ago, TurnOfTheScrew said:

And if it’s role playing with an actor, should you avoid long monologues and passive talk, and be more involved in the form of asking questions and replying to concerns? Again, should you look to involve the actor in the discussion as much as possible or will they just naturally interject. Of course I don’t mean you should just rapid fire without breathing, but should you be looking to give them prompts and ask them a lot of questions at the beginning before going into the assessment of the situation and rambling on too much?

Try to be as natural as possible in conversation with the actor. Show empathy and respond to their concerns. Be non-judgmental in verbal and non-verbal communication. Typically you are being evaluated on your interaction with the person and how you handle yourself, not on an assessment of their situation. So no need for long monologues. Try your best not to ramble in any station, that was my downfall. 
 

8 hours ago, TurnOfTheScrew said:

Also, I assume there must be some sort of buzzer for the timer. If you finish early and there is some awkward silence should you just stay there and embrace it or make small talk or something along those lines.

Depends on the school and the person. Some interviewers will make small talk. Have also experienced sitting in silence. Should you encounter silence, you can use that time to go over your response mentally and if you think of anything else beneficial to add to you can bring it up.
 

8 hours ago, TurnOfTheScrew said:

Also for etiquette, should you try to shake hands when you enter the station, or is just saying hello and introducing yourself enough? What is the stance on this?

A lot of people will reach out to shake your hand so yes, probably best to shake hands. 
 

8 hours ago, TurnOfTheScrew said:

What about when exiting, is just saying something like “goodbye” or “thank you for your time enough” or should you shake hands again as you go. Thinking this is overkill, but wanted to see what people thought. 

Like in a regular interview, try to gauge the situation. Some people will shake again, others won't. Don't think this is a huge make or break.

8 hours ago, TurnOfTheScrew said:

And does anyone have a link to any videos that show a scenario/demo of how an actual station would go? Like walking in, introductions, etc. i.e. an actual mock scenario. Most of the videos I see it’s just someone dissecting a question, not a natural interaction or how a station would be like.

This is from the University of Calgary I believe.

Hope this helps!

[TurnOfTheScrew]

2 hours ago, ruralmed said:

Hope this helps!

Very helpful, thanks for taking the time. 

Haha, that's the video I stumbled upon earlier today as well. Too bad there are not many like that, it's usually just people talking over a scenario or people role playing with friends. This one is the only one I saw that had that more authentic feel to it. 

 

2 hours ago, ruralmed said:

Depends on how you organize your response. I used the stream of consciousness method but my thoughts were not probably not presented the best and I was unsuccessful. You have 6-8 minutes ish to talk. You should give your response in an organized manner that makes sense. So a stream of consciousness may not work for everyone, you may need to add some structure to your answer without sounding rehearsed. When you stop talking they will usually ask standard follow up questions. So it's not really interjecting naturally, more superficially so everyone more or less has the same experience. They will not give an answer to your response for the same reason. You can ask questions to clarify the scenario or make sure they understand what you're saying. Just don't ask anything unprofessional for being in an MMI context.

 By not giving an answer I assume you mean that they won't analyze your response at the end, and they will just ask you follow up questions if they have any after? 

I wonder if it's advisable to be asking clarifying questions and get involved with the interviewer just to get a better picture before formulating your answer. Are they usually helpful in clarifying/guiding you or will they just give cryptic/curt replies like "take it as it is" or something along those lines, in your experience?