How to Show Passion in a Job Interview (Without Going Over the Top)

Practical strategies to engage and impress in interviews.

Passion is one of the qualities that interviewers look for most (do you want this job or is this just another application for you?) but it's also one of the hardest to get right. Too little and you risk sounding flat, too much and you risk coming across as fake or unprofessional.

You can show passion in a way that feels authentic, balanced, and professional. This guide will walk you through simple, practical techniques to bring your answers to life, especially in behavioural interviews (Tell me about a time you....).

If you’d like personalised support, I offer coaching sessions designed to help you practise and strengthen these skills in real-time so that you walk into your next interview sounding confident. Get in touch today - message me the word INTERVIEW for a discount.

Why Passion Matters

Interviewers want to see more than just skills on paper. They want to know:

• Do you genuinely care about your work?

• Will you bring positive energy to the team?

• Can you engage with others and build trust?

Passion doesn't mean being the loudest person in the room. It means sounding engaged, motivated, and believable.

Step 1: Practice out loud and record yourself

A lot of people believe they sound more enthusiastic than they actually do.

Action: Record yourself answering a common interview question (for example "tell me about yourself" or "Tell me about a time you managed multiple priorities at once"). Then play it back and listen for:

• Energy: do you sound genuinely interested in what you're saying?

• Variation: does your tone rise and fall, or is it one level all the way through?

• Pace: are you rushing or dragging?

• Believability: would you hire you based on that answer?

Pro tip: Listen a second time with your eyes closed. Without the virtual clues, you'll quickly hear where your delivery needs more life.

Step 2: Play with Pace and Pauses

STAR answers (Situation, Task, Action, Result) or CARR answers (Context, Action, Result, Reflection) can feel too long if you deliver them in one steady tone and interviewers will switch off. Or if you rush through your answer, it can make it hard for the interviewer to follow your story and they could miss the impact of your results. Finding the right balance by changing your pace and adding pauses adds natural passion and helps your key points land.

Action: Practice playing with pause and see how if feels. If you're not sure where to start:

• Take a breath before answering each question to help you manage stress and come across as confident.

• When you describe the action you took, speak slightly faster to show energy

• When you get to the result, slow down and pause for half a beat. This draws attention to the impact you created. For example, "I worked with the team to fix the process. [pause] And as a result, we cut customer complaints by 20%"

• Use stress: identify the key words in your sentence (usually the action or result) and emphasise them slightly when you speak. For example, "I led the project and improved team efficiency by 30%"

• Use intonation: Speak as you would naturally in conversation, letting your pitch rise and fall to show interest and engagement. Avoid a flat, monotone delivery.

Pro tip: record yourself talking about something you are genuinely passionate about (a hobby, someone you care about etc.) and listen back. Notice how your voice naturally rises and falls, where you stress words, and how your energy comes across without thinking. Then compare it to your interview answers and try to bring some of that natural engagement into your stories.

Step 3: Smile

Smiling doesn't just change your face - it changes your voice. Even if you are nervous, starting the interview and each answer with a small, genuine smile helps you sound warm, confident, and engaged.

When you're nervous, a "genuine" smile feels impossible. Try to focus on a small, intentional smile.

Action:

• Before answering, take a breath

• Think of something neutral that makes you slightly happy or proud (a small achievement, a hobby, what you'll have for dinner tonight?)

• Let a soft smile appear as you begin speaking

• Notice how your tone naturally lifts compared to when you start with a straight face.

Pro tip: Try saying the same sentence twice - once with a soft smile and once without. You'll hear the difference in warmth and energy immediately.

Step 4: Highlight what excited you

Behavioural answers can sometimes feel like a dry list of facts. Adding even just one sentence in your answer about what you enjoyed makes your answer sound more passionate and authentic (without going over the top).

Action: When telling your story, add one short line like:

• "What I really enjoyed about this project was bringing different teams together"

• "The part that motivated me most was finding a creative solution and testing it out"

Pro tip: Keep it short. One sentence is enough to show enthusiasm without sounding like you're going off-topic

Step 5: Think about body language

Your body language directly affects how your voice sounds. If you slump in your chair or keep completely still, your voice will sound flat. Using natural gestures and sitting upright brings more energy into your delivery (and makes you look more confident).

Action:

• Sit with your back straight and shoulders open

• Use hand gestures while speaking (there is a balance - using too many gestures can be distracting for the interviewer)

• lean forward slightly during key points to show engagement.

Pro tip: Record yourself answering a question and watch your gestures. If they feel exaggerated or distracting, scale them back. If you're too stiff or barely moving, try adding small, natural hand movements to emphasise key points. The goal is to add energy and clarity without performing a dance.

Next Steps:

Want to go deeper? This is just one part of what I cover in interview coaching. If you'd like personalised feedback and practice that helps you feel confident, be heard, and show your value, let's talk. You can book a free 30-minute audit with me where I’ll review how you come across in interviews and give you 3 ways to strengthen your interviews. You can book here: book your audit