How to Answer Questions...or Not?

How to answer questions or not?

Many presentations include time for questions from your audience. This offers the opportunity to clarify key points and nurture trust.

There might be questions that are irrelevant. Naturally, you don’t need to answer that type of question. But what happens when the question is valid and the answer from the speaker is irrelevant?

In this video, Anderson Cooper points out the ridiculous response from Florida Governor, Rick Scott.

Watch this video to see how ridiculous a speaker looks and feels when he persistently avoids the question.

Does this man feel slimy?

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Pause before you answer the question because...

Why do lawyers pounce on the witness to answer the question quickly? 

Because they’re hoping for a visceral response. One that is incriminating and can’t be retracted. That means when you are answering tough questions during your presentation, pause before you reply. 

Pause to calm yourself down and to think about your answer. Most importantly, prepare for these tough questions when you rehearse your presentation so you aren’t blindsided by them.
 


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Steve Jobs handles an insult with grace

Steve Jobs handled this insult and tough question well. Notice the long pause to think and demonstrate that he takes the question seriously. It would have been ineffective to answer quickly with a glib response.

After he stated that the person was right, Jobs then talked about his approach that might be different from the standard.

Nicely done Steve

Presentation Tips on Twitter Presentation Skills Club on Facebook Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives