Comment by tjradcliffe

In my academic days I used to refer to say "physics-standing-up" is a different subject from "physics-sitting-down" and needs to be studied separately. Some years after I left academia I had the good fortune to get in contact with the person who introduced me to acting at a very young age and thank her for her contribution to my academic career. About 30% of my success was due to my comfort working in front of an audience--even a panel of examiners is "an audience"--and I had a huge advantage over my peers because of it.

One thing that I'd recommend to anyone seeking any kind of job is taking some improv courses--they are pretty common in major centers and even some smaller towns, and can really improve your ability to deal with this kind of nonsensical interview situation, which tests a bunch of skills that have nothing to do with your ability to actually do the job.