Business Presentations - Part 4: Dealing With Difficult Questions

You've have reached the end of your presentation and are now going to take questions from your audience. This can be the most challenging, and  it's the most important part of your talk. People's final impression of you will likely be made at this point. 

In today's post we'll cover the following types of situations:

a) You Don't The Answer

b) Question Machine Guns

c) Emotional Questions

d)  Hijackers

I don't know...

It can happen to anyone. An audience member asks a question and you don't know the answer. First, don't panic: stay calm.

The best thing to do is admit you don't know, and offer to answer the question later.


I don't know the answer to that.  I'll look into it and get back to you as soon as I can.

I can't answer that question right now, but I can get back to you later with an answer.

Can I get back to you later? I don't have that information right now, but I'll be able to answer your question very soon.


If you have an idea of what the answer could be, you can use the following phrases.

I'm not sure, but I believe.... I'll get back to you later and confirm that.

It might/could/may be...I can give you a better answer after I've looked into it.

It's possible that...I'm can't say for sure right now, but I'll get back to you with a more concrete answer later. 


Phrasal Verbs

get back to someone = to communicate with someone or answer a question at a later time.

look into something = to investigate or explore a question or problem deeply.

Question Machine Gun

 

Question Machine Guns are people who ask many questions questions very quickly, all at once. These are difficult because you have to remember all the questions, and can only answer one question at a time.

The first thing you can do is get the audience member to repeat their question. Often, the person can't remember every question they had asked, so you'll have less to answer.

I'm sorry. Can you repeat your questions for me, please?

You can also ask for a limited number of questions before starting the Q&A part of your talk. Answering multiple questions from one person can  take time away from the other attendees at the presentation.

Ladies and gentlemen. As the time for Q&A is limited to (15 minutes), can you limit the questions to (2) per person, please? If there's more time, I'll be happy to answer any additional questions you might have.

Emotional Questions

 Depending on the topic and setting, audience members can get emotional when asking questions. One thing not to do is to speculate on how the person is feeling.

I can see that you're upset about this. 

It's best to just show understanding and use non-specific phrases and words.

I can see that there's a lot of concern about...

You have have strong feelings regarding...


It's important that you as the speaker don't get caught up in the emotions of the person. Stay calm and answer questions as clearly as possible.

Phrasal Verbs

 get caught up in something = to become toondeeply involved in something

 Hijackers

  Hijackers are people who are more interested in making a statement than asking questions. This is a situation you have to get under control quickly or else the hijacker will take over your presentation. 

One technique to slow down a hijacker is a paraphrasing question. Read the short dialogue below.


Hijacker: I feel that mobile technology is overused in business. Working people can no longer do
                anything without their smartphones and WiFi. What we should look at is more training 
               on basic business skills. 

Presenter: So, you're saying people rely too heavily on smartphones? 
  

Other phrases: What you're saying is workers need better training?

It's best to do this when the person pauses to catch their breath. A paraphrasing question will allow you to regain control, and move on to another member of your audience. You can then stop the hijacker by turning away from him/her. This is a very clear non-verbal signal that you're done and that the hijacker should stop.

Finally,

Your body language and facial expressions should be as positive and upbeat as possible. Difficult questions can be stressful, but it's important to...

smile, stay calm, and focus