Presentation at my oral board, help! :)

[WebNerd]

The department I have applied to is requiring me to give a 5 minute oral presentation on "What is the most important character trait for a police officer to have?".

I thought I would do it on being self-confident. But I don't want to come off like I am arrogant.

Also, do you think it is o.k. to bring in notes or should it all come from memory? I have never heard of an oral board with a presentation before so I am stuck.

Can I please get some opinions / advise?

Thanks!

[Retired Trooper]

It depends on the what the dept likes. If they are big on community policing programs do some research on it and relate it to yourself. But be honest in whatever u do in relating it to yourself.

[WebNerd]

They are a smaller department. And they do have a community policing type of program... I have a ride along with on of the top officers in the dept. so I can see first hand how their program works. I will just listen to him and hopefully he will give me some ideas.

[txinvestigator1]

Integrity

[Oldbillplod]

How about commitment and dedication

[oscarmitre]

Integrity is good, Tx hit it I think. The reason is that integrity, while it means "honest" also has other meanings. Think of "integration". No not racial integration but the integration of all the best characteristics of a police officer. That's also what "integrity" means. Integrating the private persona with the police persona so that there is much congruity as possible between the two. A cop with integrity is not a cop for 8 hours while in uniform, he or she is a cop all the time - yes I know we take the oath/affirmation and therefore we are cops all the time - but I mean in a conscious manner. It's more than just being observant off duty (that is a given). It's about every action that you take on or off duty defines you. A cop with integrity pulls it all together.

Hope this makes sense.

[Menace]

Integrity and Honesty

[dragonspider]

I agree....Integrity and honesty.... There are advertisements for some eBooks on the "Home" RP page... One of the eBooks is specifically directed toward Oral Boards and the things to do, and not to do....

http://www.4webebooks.com/?hop=realpolice

[WebNerd]

I originally thought actually thought integrity. Because I honestly thought it was the most important trait. But then isn't integrity more of value than a personality trait? I have spent hours and hours on the net trying to figure that one out...

I will also take a look at the ebook.

I suppose if most people here say integrity then I should go with that. I just don't want to make the fatal mistaked of choosing a value over trait.

thanks

[dragonspider]

You could be right....Integrate the two... I say the trait is "above reproach", and the values that make up that trait are integrity, honesty, maturity, and others.... check out the eBook... If you learn one thing, it's worth whatever you pay for it...

[WebNerd]

DragonSpider - have you personally seen this ebook? Looking over the ad and giving it some thought reminded me that at one time I knew a fire fighter that created his own ebook then tried selling it. Which is fine.

However, while I don't want to knock the advertisers on this free forum I would be hesitant to purchase anything like this with out knowing anything about the person who wrote it and finding other people who have actually purchased it and endorse it.

For example I kept seeing a DVD on the subject advertised on almost every type of becoming a LEO web site. It promised to give " no nonsense, pointers that you’ll need at every level of testing: tackling the application process, passing the written exam with an A+, excelling at the oral board interview - crushing your competition!"

However when I got the DVD there was nothing really there that I couldn't have found out here or anywhere else on the net. It was full of information for someone who had absolutely no exposure ever to the process.

I hope I am not coming off as rude because I really appreciate the information. I just want make sure that if I am spending money I know what I am getting.

Thank You

[dragonspider]

You could find most of the information in other places, but it's kind of nice to have it all in one place... I bought the entire series for like $26 or something like that.... it included Oral, Written, Psych, Poly, a "standard" test, and maybe some other stuff... I didn't come away from it blown away by the knowledge I gained, but I figured $26 was worth it if I learned one thing that would put me one notch above the next guy...

[vadep]

Integrity

[WebNerd]

Integrity it is then... thanks folks! I really appreciate all the help!

DragonSpider - Thanks for the recommendation. I did get a copy and it was great! Well worth it! The entire document pretty much was pointing to integrity!