Presentation advice: handling audience questions

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There are only two types of speakers in the world,” claimed Mark Twain. “1. The nervous and 2. Liars!” Whichever camp you fall into, follow presentation expert Sara Parsons’ top tips for dealing with what for many is the most angst-inducing component of public speaking – dealing with audience questions

 

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR CREDIBILITY

The fear around the question stage of your presentation is usually born of anxiety about not being able to provide an answer on the spot. Time for a confidence booster: You’ve been asked to deliver it for a reason – know what that is, and remind yourself of your expertise as you prepare. You can even build this into your delivery, introducing yourself to your audience by reinforcing your position (steer clear of job titles as these can mean different things to different people, and focus instead on the work you’ve been doing or your role in a particular project).

REHEARSE ANSWERS TO THE LOGICAL QUESTIONS

Your presentation should focus on delivering key messages to your audience, rather than a warts and all expose on a topic. What you leave out may well throw up some obvious questions your audience may ask. Prepare your answers, aiming to make these as memorable as you did your main presentation. If you’re struggling to see what questions might arise, ask someone you trust to be your guinea pig – run through your presentation and ask them what questions they have.

TAKE ‘DEVIL’S ADVOCATE’ APPROACH

Your job as a presenter is to persuade your audience of your opinion or decision. Part of that necessitates taking an honest look at opposing points of view and having your counter-arguments ready. Prepare cool, considered responses to any challenges you might receive and save some statistics or visual slides you can draw on in this eventuality. If you’re presenting to a new audience, do some research beforehand to get a feel for how challenging they’re likely to be and what their viewpoint might be based on their roles and objectives.

GET COMFORTABLE WITH NOT KNOWING THE ANSWER

No amount of preparation can ready you for every curveball question that might be thrown your way by a member of your audience. Rather than fear the unanswerable question, get comfortable with admitting you don’t know. How you respond will be key to maintaining your credibility: not knowing is fine if you pledge to find out and get back to the questioner within a defined period of time, e.g. “Interesting question – we’re still waiting on some data that will help us answer that better. As soon as it’s in, I’ll share that with you.”

AVOID THE Q&A ALL TOGETHER

If nerves are likely to overwhelm this part of your presentation, or there’s simply no time to build in a few minutes for audience participation, consider crafting a ‘frequently asked questions’ slide at the conclusion of your deck.

MORE TIPS FOR HANDLING QUESTIONS

  • Remember, in answering questions, your demeanour and how you project can be as important as what you say. When responding, apply the same care and attention to your body language, tone and conciseness as you do the main part of your presentation.
  • Respect the questioner. Make eye contact and listen, don’t cut them off or put them down.
  • Pause before you answer. Reflect on what has been asked – the silence often adds weight to your response.
  • Re-state a confusing or long-winded question. This helps you put it into focus and lets the audience understand what you are trying to answer.
  • If you need some thinking time, redirect the question to the audience. “Does anyone else have any insight that can help here?”

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