譬如說,我曾經聽過當主考官問到 You’ve traveled to so many countries in Europe, what is the most unforgettable culture shock for you?(你去過那麼多歐洲國家,對你來說印象最深刻的文化衝擊是什麼?)時,牡羊座的應試者回答:
I think the Italians are very cold and detached. I remember I lost my wallet in Rome. When I went the police station and asked the officer to help me, he told me there’s nothing he could do, and I should have been careful in the first place. ( 我覺得義大利人都很冷漠。記得在羅馬的時候,我的錢包掉了。當時我去警察局請警察幫忙我,結果他居然跟我說他沒辦法幫我些什麼,而且在羅馬這些事很常發生,我自己應該要小心。)
真誠是種美德,但過度主觀的依照自己的想法批評任何人事物,只會顯得你不具備有國際工作者需要的開放心態及內省的能力。既然 2018 牡羊座必須要『改頭換面』才會成功,Cynthia 老師建議牡羊座的應試者,要練習在面談的過程中『稍稍放慢你的腳步,開口前先花 3 秒鐘想想這樣說恰不恰當。』 當你腦袋海中浮現出一個符合考官提問時的畫面,「喔,對,那傢伙真是超瞎的!」這句話溜到嘴邊的時候,請先深吸一口氣,把接下來的批評吞回去。可以順著主考官的提問說,先緩和一下自己激昂的情緒,同時引起主考官的好奇心。比方說,你可以這樣開始: Oh, yes. So many things happened in Europe, but there is one remarkable one I felt blushed to talk about. ( 歐洲之旅的確發生了很多插曲,但有件是我現在想起來,都覺得當時我怎麼會這麼天真。)
接著有統的描述當時發生的故事,並具體提出「再發生一次我會怎麼辦?」的解決方針,你可以這樣繼續: I remember I lost my wallet in Rome. When I went to the police station and asked the officer to help me, he told me there’s nothing he could do, and I should be careful anyhow. In the beginning, I was shocked that the officer didn’t help me like how the Taiwanese officers would do. When I phoned my friend and complained about this, she said “Daring, you’re not a 10-year-old. You can’t expect everyone to do the thing in your way.” It’s not a pleasure to hear that in the first place, but it really knocked my innocent off. The officer was telling me the fact that if I asked the right question in the right way, perhaps the result would have been totally different. Instead of throwing my problem to the officer and then sit there to expect his fixing it, I should have asked him to take me to the Taiwanese representative office in Rome or assist me in contacting Foreign Ministry Emergency Contact Center. After that I notice I need to help myself first before cry for help. ( 記得在羅馬的時候,我的錢包掉了。當時我去警察局請警察幫忙我,結果他跟我說他沒辦法幫我些什麼,而且在羅馬這些事很常發生,我自己應該要小心。當時我敢相信他居然就這樣不理我了,不像台灣的警察都會很熱心幫忙。當我事後跟朋友抱怨這件事的時候,我朋友跟我說「你又不是10 歲小孩,應該要知道世界不會照著你的想法轉。」一開始聽到的時候我蠻難過的,但同時也知道當時我的想法真的太天真。警察先生的確說了一個事實,但如果我換一個方式問了不一樣的問題,也許結果會完全不一樣。其實我應該請警察先生帶我去羅馬的台灣代表處,或是幫我打給外交部緊急救難中心,都好過把問題丟給別人然後期待友人幫我擦屁股。那次以後,求救之前自己一定要先努力尋找解決的辦法。