Foreign Service Oral Assessment Group Exercise

Everyone will receive two packets of information, a group brief and an individual brief. The group brief will give you general background information about a scenario in a fictional country. You have few resources and several proposals. You’ll read about the country’s history and culture. The individual brief is a five-page document with details about one aid project. You’ll have 30 minutes to review the documents. During this phase you want to:

1. Briefly review EVERYTHING.
2. Learn as much as you can about your specific proposal.
3. Prepare a six minute presentation about your proposal, including positives, negatives, why it would be in the US interest, and how much it would cost.
4. Spend the rest of your time reviewing background information. Try to memorize a few details that could help you out during the discussion phase.

Each member of the group will then take turns presenting his proposal. Be objective and clear. Remember those thirteen dimensions that make a good Foreign Service Officer? I recommend you try and show that you meet the following:

• Composure – you’ll be nervous, that’s ok; try not to stutter and avoid verbal pauses (uh, um, like).
• Information Integration and Analysis – you should have done this in the last phase, but start showing it off now!
• Objectivity and Integrity – this is the best chance you’ll get all day to show objectivity.
• Oral Communication – obviously.
• Planning and Organizing – present your project in an organized manner, and this should shine right through.

After everyone has presented, you’ll have 20-25 minutes to discuss the various projects. There isn’t enough money for all of them, so as a group you’ll have to come to a consensus and decide which projects get funding. This is the hard part. You’re all stressed, but make sure you keep composure. Participate, but don’t be a prima donna. Try to get your project funded, but if the negatives outweigh the positives, drop your project, making sure to explain why. I did a quick poll of the officers in my section today; three of us got our projects included in the final proposal, one retracted his. Four isn’t a statistical sample, but it does show that both strategies can pass. A lot of people suggest trying to set the agenda. I think its benefits are overstated, and there’s a lot of competition. I imagine you get more points building consensus between two people arguing than by setting the agenda. Be respectful, thoughtful, deliberate, and focused. I recommend showing the following dimensions:

• Composure – and it’s even harder with other, stressed-out people.
• Information Integration and Analysis – if you memorized a key fast fact from the brief use it to back up your point.
• Judgment – know when to compromise and when to push. Just do your best.
• Objectivity and Integrity – here you want to vouch for your project, but don’t be immature, if it really isn’t in the best interest of the group, let your project go and carefully explain why.
• Oral Communication – again, obviously.
• Resourcefulness – if you can come up with a creative solution, you’ll be a hero. When I took the exam I presented a way to only pay 1/3 of the money and still get the full effect of my project and in so doing made it almost impossible for the group to refuse.
• Working with Others – this is basically your one shot at this dimension. Remember they’re hiring diplomats, so be diplomatic!

I’m not a recruiter, and my strategies could be way off base, so here’s advice that I’m pretty sure can’t go wrong. Do your best and use your best judgment. This one is frustrating, but it can be a lot of fun.

This post is part of my unofficial Guide to the Foreign Service Exam.

Tagged as: FSOT