Behavioral question
If you were to give a ted talk, what would your topic be?
- Behavioral
- Easy
Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.
Start a mock interview on this question · Mock interview from a job description
What this question tests
Tests self-awareness and communication in a low-structure behavioral prompt: whether the candidate can pick a genuine, specific point of view rather than a generic platitude.
How to approach it
- Pick a topic tied to real experience or expertise, not something generic like 'passion' or 'never give up'.
- State the topic and the one core idea the talk would argue, in one sentence.
- Explain why this topic matters now, tying it to a trend or problem the candidate has actually observed.
- Give one concrete example or story from the candidate's own work that illustrates the idea.
- Connect it back to what it says about how the candidate thinks or works, since the interviewer is really probing self-awareness.
What a strong answer includes
- Chooses a specific, slightly unexpected topic tied to real experience, such as a lesson from a failed launch, rather than a generic inspirational theme.
- Backs the topic with one concrete example from the candidate's own career rather than an abstract argument.
- Uses the answer to reveal something true about how the candidate approaches product work, since that is what the interviewer is actually evaluating.
- Keeps the pitch to one clear idea instead of trying to cover three loosely related themes.
Common mistakes
- Picking an overly generic, safe topic like 'follow your dreams' that reveals nothing about the candidate.
- Rambling without ever stating the one core idea the talk would make.
Likely follow-up questions
- What is the one takeaway you want the audience to leave with?
- How did you land on this specific topic over others you considered?
More behavioral questions
- How do you know when to cut corners to get a product out the door?Shopify · Behavioral · Medium
- How do you define a good PM vs. a bad PM?Google · Behavioral · Easy
- How did you handle communicating with various types of stakeholders on a project you recently ran and what did you find most effective?Google · Behavioral · Easy
- How do you make sure you keep improving as a PM?Google · Behavioral · Easy
- What kind of project would you like to work with?Google · Behavioral · Easy
- How would you keep developers working on a product motivated and turning out quality work?Shopify · Behavioral · Easy
More questions from Google
Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 13: Lead the room: staff moves, forward-deployed PM, and the portfolio
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop