Eloquence and poise are important in teaching positions because teachers must use their communication skills to impart knowledge. One way that potential employers often seek to determine whether their candidates posses these important skills is through the teacher interview process. If you secure an interview for a teacher interview, prepare your responses to the most likely questions so you appear as capable as possible.

All About You
Your teaching interview will likely begin with questions about you as an individual. You will likely be asked to state your strengths and weaknesses during this portion of the interviewing process. To prepare to respond to this question, jot down a list of things that you do well and things that you aren't so skilled at, along with an explanation of your reason for including each. While you certainly want to be honest when answering these questions, you should take care not to include a skill that you will need as a teacher or teaching candidate on your list of weaknesses. For example, giving patience as one of your weaknesses is a poor idea, even if this is something with which you struggle.

Reasons for Selecting Profession
Teaching can at times be a thankless profession full of hard work. Knowing this, hiring committees are often eager to learn what attracted you to the profession. Prepare an answer to this question that encompasses your desire to make a difference and improve the lives of children, not the overly used "I like kids" or the likely somewhat true yet not a professional reason: "I wanted my summers off."

Experience
Regardless of whether you have worked as a teacher or a teaching assistant, you likely have some experience in education or training. Your teaching interview committee will likely ask you to both state what your experience is as well as outline what you learned through these experiences. Particularly if you have no formal teaching experience, think of some experience that could be applicable, such as working as a trainer with an organization with which you volunteer.

Educational Philosophy
One of the more challenging questions you will likely face is a question about your educational philosophy. Hiring committees in the educational spectrum often inquire as to your views of education, the educational principles you most value and your view of the role of teachers. If you wrote an educational philosophy as part of your training to work as an educator, review the document and perhaps even bring a copy to share.