"Not long ago, I dealt with an angry customer who was a bit riled up. They were using offensive language and being quite aggressive with another employee. I could see this employee getting flushed and a bit glassy-eyed, so I stepped in and took over, asking what the problem was. They started by saying we were the worst, and we were all incompetent, and they were sick of dealing with us over the phone, so they were here to deal with us in person. I maintained my calm and validated their anger. I then stepped aside with them. Now that they had an attentive audience willing to listen and empathise with them, they calmed down. As I validated their frustrations further, mirroring them and making them feel heard, they incrementally calmed more. By the end of the conversation, I calmed them down quite a bit and told them that it was after hours for our corporate office but that I would the following day reach out to the appropriate channels and see what I could do about their problem and would call them by noon the following day to give them an update. They were grateful, and I called them the next day and handed them off to a specialist who was able to take care of their needs. A few days later, they came in and apologised to the original employee and thanked me for my assistance."

Your interviewer is curious about how emotionally mature you are. They also want to know about your communication skills, especially your non-defensive and mediation skills. As they detail online, The Civil Service is looking for Civil Servants who "deal with conflict in a prompt, calm and constructive manner, Encourage collaborative team working within their team and across the Department."