Handling or dealing with questions, whichever way you like to describe it, is the most worrisome part for many of us. It’s one thing to put in hours and effort crafting something amazing and then deliver it in style but, quite another to field curve ball questions! Not being prepared for questions can derail your presentation.
Let’s look at it another way. The Q&A part of a presentation is an opportunity for you, as the expert, to showcase the depth of your knowledge and give a deeper insight into your personality, so that your audience can see what it might be like to work with you. It is also an opportunity for the audience to get further clarification of their own interests or issues. The question part could actually elevate your presentation and add value.
Keep in mind, the audience participants are more interested in having their questions answered than they are in your content.
The good news is you can prepare for questions. Think of it as preparing for a trial in court. When I first qualified as a lawyer, I remember being absolutely terrified of going to court because I had such a debilitating fear of public speaking. Added to that, I was quite often the most junior lawyer in the room. Not only did I have to worry about questions from the judge that I may not be able to answer, but I had to deal with other lawyers representing their own clients who would want to trip me up. Those were some of the most stressful experiences of my career.
After a while, I developed a coping strategy—I prepared for curve ball questions by putting myself in the judge’s shoes or that of my opponents. I would think like they did, to help me work out questions they might come up with and then prepare my material. That really helped with my confidence. After a while, you get into the habit of thinking like that—viewing the situation from the other parties’ perspective and anticipating their concerns or points of interest.
Here are some ideas for you to develop your own strategy, whatever the situation.
When to Take Questions
Set yourself up for success. Decide how you want to handle any questions and then let your audience know—guide them. You may want to take questions after each main section, leave them to the end as most people do, or take them ad hoc throughout your talk.
Taking questions after each section can be really useful if the content is complicated. Pausing to ask if there are any questions so far gives the audience a chance to process what has just been shared and gives you a chance to reset or take stock. Quite often, people do have questions, but are reluctant to ask in open forum for fear of sounding stupid or asking an “obvious question.” This is where your research and preparation can be leveraged to full effect. You can slip in some extra material by framing it with “I often get asked,” or “most people tend to ....” A brief interaction at these stages can help keep them engaged.
Taking questions after each section, however, could disrupt the flow of the presentation, but may be appropriate depending on the type of meeting. You would also need to keep the presentation on track skillfully and steer away from lengthy discussions that take you away from the main theme.
Taking questions at the end is what we generally see in business presentations or at conferences. The advantage is that you can take the audience through your presentation without interrupting the flow. However, you need to make sure you keep your audience engaged with your content and delivery if you are not pausing for interim questions.
How can you be ready for dealing with questions? Anticipate them.
Anticipating
Remember all the research you carried out earlier when identifying the relevant audience before structuring the content to make it as custom-made as possible? There will undoubtedly be material you eventually decided not to use in the final content. Hold it in reserve.
That same research data will help you identify the key issues that are important for your audience. Ideally, you will have built the content around the main areas of concern for them—answering questions up front.
This is the raw material mind map from the brainstorming stage in Chapter 2 (See example below)—all that research can be used for dealing with questions or covering material you left out of the main presentation.
When you have a good understanding of the audience’s interests and level of existing knowledge, you will have a better idea of the type of questions they might ask.
Think through all possible questions that could come up, from basic to tricky and even hostile. Plan your answers and then rehearse them in the same way you would your presentation.
Trouble-Makers in the Audience
Just to be clear, I wouldn’t suggest we make an assumption that there will be someone in the room who is on a mission to derail your presentation. However, there may be individuals in your audience who like to be controversial or have a pet subject or preoccupation. Some people may want to challenge you publicly. Handle these situations firmly and with humor if you can. Keep your composure—rely on your preparation to keep you grounded.
Be Concise
Getting drawn into long answers takes you off point and poses the danger of losing those members in the audience who are not interested in that point. Keep your answers short and to the point. If the audience wants more detail, they will ask a follow-up question.
You can weave in extra content if you invite questions, but there is little response. Just be careful to keep the balance—rather than using it as an opportunity to squeeze in more material, just share enough to answer a hypothetical question.
How to Respond
Okay, so you have prepared as much as possible with reserve material and have decided at what stage of your presentation you will invite questions. But, how to respond? The following tips may help with any anxiety you might have about responding to potential unknown questions:
Pause for a moment and take your time. This demonstrates that you are giving a considered answer, rather than jumping straight in.
Listen carefully and repeat the question to buy yourself some time to think.
Unpack questions with layers. People often raise several points wrapped up in one sentence. Listen for this and separate out the points by repeating them back. You might even want to take notes, so that you can select specific parts to answer and don’t risk overlooking anything.
Clarify the question. Some people tend to ramble on when they ask questions, or they have a particular interest and like to make statements or share opinions, rather than ask a question. In that case, pin them down and ask what their question is. Repeating or paraphrasing the question ensures you are both on the same page and not at cross purposes. In a large room, repeating the question may be necessary, as others may not have heard.
Consider the perspective of the person asking the question. What would prompt them to ask it? Put yourself in their shoes. Does something need further clarification or more detail? Or, do they want to be more visible by asking a question in open forum? Asking questions or raising discussion points in this way can help raise profile and recognition of thought leadership among peers and colleagues.
When You Do Not Know
After all your preparation, there may still be questions that you just cannot answer in that moment. Most of us realize that no one has all the answers in a particular moment. It is okay to say you don’t know. We probably know where to find the answer and can deal with it later.
Decide how you will deal with the “I don’t know” scenario in advance. Do not wing it—the audience will see through that.
Rehearse your version of “I don’t know.” That could be “I’ll check that out and get back to you,” or “it’s been a while since I looked at that; can I follow up with you later?” or something along those lines. The main thing is to say you don’t have the answer immediately with confidence and certainty.
There will be times when questions touch on your weak areas, for example, when pitching a new product or service that has not yet been tested fully. Prepare for this and rehearse some phrases that indicate you acknowledge it is a weak area and are working on it, rather than becoming defensive or trying to tenuously justify your position.
If you feel confident enough, you can throw it out to the audience and ask if anyone else has come across that particular issue. Great tactic if you have team members in the room that can field specialist questions. Make sure you brief everyone beforehand on potential questions and warn them they may be called upon! Another way to look at this tactic is that someone else offering an opinion could get a discussion going. This extended discussion can be quite beneficial, and if it is after your main presentation has ended, it won’t interrupt the flow.
Whichever way you handle questions, be respectful of your audience. Be aware of your tone of voice, body language, and delivery in the same way we have talked about for the main presentation. Even if a question seems ridiculous or has been covered already, acknowledge it in a professional way with a neutral tone of voice. The same goes for controversial or provocative comments.
Your mindset is the key. Be positive. Resist assuming that they are trying to trip you up.
Closing Stages
Finish strong. End your presentation with your call to action or conclusion. This keeps the energy high.
That means allowing for questions before your final conclusion or close. You want to leave a powerful final impression, and leaving your question section to the very end does not set you up for success. Save your summary slide as a lasting impression.
Key Points
Think of questions as an opportunity for you to showcase your expertise.
Remember, it is an opportunity for the audience to get their questions answered—put yourself in their shoes to anticipate what kind of questions could come up.
Use your mind map from the brainstorming phase to help you prepare for questions.
Rehearse taking questions and decide when or if you will take them, so you can let the audience know up front.
Practice your version of “I don’t know,” so that you can feel confident and not worry about getting caught out.