For a successful interview having the right knowledge and skills are not enough by itself. You have to demonstrate these skills to the interviewer. Following are 5 interview tips about how to show your skills in a job interview. These are especially suited to a technical job interview but are useful for any job interview as well.
First of all you must be organized. Even if you know the answer to the question asked, take a moment to organize, formulate or structure your answer. Unless the answer is a very short one divide it in to section and if necessary subsection. No section should last more than a minute at most. List the high points of the answer first before going in to details. Also never answer in yes and no; flesh out your answers with some relevant information. In general keep your answers short, simple and relevant. Avoid personal details that are not really relevant to the question asked.
When answering a question always keep the interviewer in mind. Make sure that your answer is clearly understood by the interviewer. When answering level of detail, use of technical jargon, etc should depend on who the interviewer is. For example the answers that are suitable for a technical expert could be incomprehensible to an HR representative, therefore consider who the interviewer is and answer in a way that is most comprehensible to him or her.
This point is especially relevant to technical questions; in particular when you are given a problem to solve. When solving a complex problem, for example writing a program for some task, don't be silent, keep talking so the interviewer can know what exactly are you doing and why are you doing it. Be frank and let the interviewer know what you are thinking.
When answering questions be as specific as you can. Whenever possible cite relevant examples from your past professional experience. Do not use answers that take a lot of words, sound impressive and convey no actual information at all. Keep your focus on the question. Look at the question from the interviewer's point of view, understand what exactly he wants to know and make sure that your answer contains only the facts relevant to the question. If you do not know the exact answer, admit it and don't use some general purpose answer that'll serve only to irritate the interviewer.
Last but not the least is confidence. Your confidence and body language color everything you say or do during an interview. If your confidence is low, even if you give a right answer, it may appear as if you made a wild guess and got it right or that the question just happens to be the one of few that you prepared for. Always be confident during the interview. There is never enough time in an interview to fully judge your knowledge or skills. The final decision would depend on your confidence and body language as well as your answers.
The interview tips above will help you showcase your skill in the best way possible during an interview. These are more or less general purpose in nature and would be useful for all interviews, jobs or otherwise.