I'm also scared! I always hear from people that you have to give these long sprawling responses that fit in as many grammar patterns as possible, but I feel so awkward doing that.
When they ask GC questions, would it be better to give them a simple answer with things left unsaid and hope that they ask a follow up question (to make the conversation more natural), or go right out spitting lines that pad out the answer?
It's correct to say the long, sprawling, grammatically-complex spiels are awkward. If anything, grammar is meant to link ideas efficiently, so that you can express a complicated concept
without going on forever! Maybe try making some sentences with that perspective. Instead of trying to fit tons of bells and whistles into one sentence, use more advanced and interesting patterns to improve the
quality of your syntactic expression, not the quantity! If anything it will impress the interviewers more than using たりたりします a million times and leaving the feeling that you only memorized the first page of a textbook
As for leaving simple answer nuggets to hopefully lead your interviewers to questions like leading a horse to water, I would avoid it. As the saying goes, they might not do what you were expecting! It's better to hedge the risk and put out a whole, beefy answer, just in case they swiftly move on. And if anything, the beef might give them more to chew, giving way to more in-depth questions and more opportunities to excel (...and more points on your scoring sheet). I would be willing to sacrifice some conversational ~flow~ for extra marks and more control.
This is my horribly, horribly unqualified opinion, but I would say reply with (1) direct answer to the question, (2) elaboration, then (3) link to another topic if you can. For example, "I like A. This is because of B. In fact, due to this, I would like to become C in the future", or something. Maybe it's just my cynicism coming through, but relying on assessors to ask follow-up questions that just happen to work out seems a little risky.
[I can't even carry a decent conversation in English.]
Great advice!!! I completely agree. Linking is a great strategy. Also, yes, it is risky to hope for what might not come which is also why it's important to make your answers count!
LMao I'm not a pro conversationalist either but I would recommend: A) translating your self-deprecating humour into Japanese and using it because it's funny and will probably be well-received if you can pull it off*, or B) tossing that thought in the bin because confidence is key!!
*imagine!!!!!!!
You: 一番難しい科目は日本語です。どうしてかいうと、英語だっても会話をするたびに緊張しすぎて、口が重くなってしまうからです。でも、日本語の勉強をすればするほど、自分に自信をつけられ、友達にうるさい!!といわれるほどたくさん話せるようになりました!
Them: AN inTRoSPecTIVe KIng!!!
You also both mentioned worrying about using なんか and other casual phrases during your oral. Lucky for you I have a tried and true method that kills this naughty habit.
Practice (lmao)
Seriously though, the reason why these 'pop out' is because you're stalling for time. You haven't learnt the ~act~. You've got a script, you learn it, you perform it. Think of yourself like a stage performer. Memorise your lines, get confident and avoid 'slipping out of character'. You
will notice that the better you commit your sentences to memory, the less uM-Ah-oH-uHhhh-y they come out. So if you are really worried about なんか、、そうね、、うん then that's the solution. The catch is that you can take relief in the fact that the assessors know you're not trained actors, and are instead human. It doesn't matter all that much, you'll be forgiven. But by any measure, finalising all (or even some, or even just a few killer sentences) of your script and becoming able to parrot them back without missing a beat easily makes you feel and look way more confident.
GOOD LUCK GUYS!!! It should be soon right?