Orals Tips?

[Louise]

I have my Orals in a months time (2nd attempt). To say I'm nervous would be an understatement. Has anyone recently sat their Orals that can give me a heads up/any tips/questions that are frequently cropping up?

Many thanks in advance!

[YoungMariner]

One method I'd suggest is when answering a question is to validate/reference the authority of the answer before you actually get to the crux, for instance if asked about pollution, you might say 'I would take action in accordance the MARPOL regulations, chapter etc, my companies Safety management system etc and that would be...' Immediately you have told the examiner that you know the regulations, you know the publications you refer to, you know the checklists are available, so even if your final answer isn't absolutely comprehensive, you do you know where to find the answers.
Also the proper format for answering orals questions (series of compass bearings, ascertain risk of collision). Practicing the correct format and phraseology that the examiner expects to hear helps you sound more well polished and less likely to dig yourself a hole by saying something wrong.

Do you know what your weak areas were on the last exam? Which Marine Office are you attending?

[perksy121]

Couldn't agree more with what YM has just said here, one thing I'd add on to the referencing part is to learn your M-Notices, I passed my Chief Mates oral in Southampton at the end of last month and my ability to reference the majority of my answers to M-Notices scores me a lot of praise in the debrief!
Also definitely second the format point. Practice saying your answers out loud so you can string them together coherently, a lot of people fail because they weren't able to get the knowledge across well enough rather than not having the knowledge at all.
The general theme in Southampton at the moment is hard but fair, keep calm and as long as you know the syllabus and your rules you should be fine, getting some sessions with the pilots at WMA would be a good idea too if you're in the area.

[PetePlank]

Couldn't agree more with what YM has just said here, one thing I'd add on to the referencing part is to learn your M-Notices, I passed my Chief Mates oral in Southampton at the end of last month and my ability to reference the majority of my answers to M-Notices scores me a lot of praise in the debrief!
Also definitely second the format point. Practice saying your answers out loud so you can string them together coherently, a lot of people fail because they weren't able to get the knowledge across well enough rather than not having the knowledge at all.
The general theme in Southampton at the moment is hard but fair, keep calm and as long as you know the syllabus and your rules you should be fine, getting some sessions with the pilots at WMA would be a good idea too if you're in the area.

Hey Louise how did it go?