I was reading an article by Dr H. Christian Gunderson about using keywords in your job interview. The article itself was good, but one paragraph specifically jumped out at me:
What if an interviewer says, "We want somebody who is responsible, willing to grow, and is a team player." If you ask, "Specifically, what do you mean by willing to grow?" you are reinforcing rapport and zeroing in on the most important qualities the interviewer is looking for in a candidate.
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This is a great insight that not many people use. I don't think that I have asked probing questions like this too often in the interview process. The few times I can recall asking such questions it was because I was deeply involved in providing a sincere answer and admittedly I was stalling a bit to find what to say. Haha.
When you ask people what they mean about a question they posed it really does show that you care about their question and in some cases you can connect with them on a personal level - depending on the questions, ambient, relationship, etc.
You may not want to ask that for every question. That could be annoying. But if you are sincere in seeking to understand why they are asking the question you will give a better answer. Maybe it's because of a bad experience with a past employee or it could just be a generic question and the interviewer is just trying to get through the day. Regardless, asking these kind of probing questions will help you to identify what they are looking for as a best answer. Once you've found that use your power statements as mentioned in my "Cool Hand Luke" post.
In summary, when you're asked questions in the interview seek to sincerely understand the why behind the question. You will have a better interview.
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