Next to the invitation itself, the offhanded comment, “Oh, by the way, you should allow a little time at the end for questions,” is the greatest cause for concern for many speakers. Why? Several reasons: They fear not knowing the answer to a specific question. They fear that someone will question their authority or the credibility of their information. They fear stammering and faltering with unplanned answers. They fear a hostile audience or participant. They fear losing control of the audience and the situation. They may even feel “put upon” for being placed on the spot with an unpopular answer or an unpopular subject.
And any or all of these may cause embarrassment.
Why, then, should speakers put themselves through the anxiety of anticipating these predicaments and devastating results? First of all, the audience expects time for questions—as their God-given right to force the speaker to “meet the press” so to speak, particularly on controversial points.
But in addition to audience expectations and needs, questions also benefit you, the speaker. First, questions allow you to apply the key points specifically to your audience’s situation. Audience analysis, of course, is part of your preparation, but questions give you one last opportunity to make specific application. Questions also provide feedback on how clear you were and offer a chance to correct wrong impressions. When you get an off-the-wall question, you immediately recognize that one of your key points has been perhaps misleading for or misunderstood by your listener.
Another advantage of question-answer periods is to establish further rapport with your audience. Your answers show that you care about individual needs and understanding. They show genuine goodwill in giving value to your audience. Here’s your opportunity to be spontaneous and witty. And nothing shows your depth of knowledge, credibility, and communication skills as vividly as unrehearsed fielding of unplanned questions.
Finally, questioning periods give you “leeway” in judging the appropriate timing. Five or ten minutes either added or subtracted from your speech can be corrected in the time allotted for questions—a reassuring cushion for you, particularly on a first-time speech run.
Let’s get into the mechanics, then, of handling question-answer periods effectively.
Anticipate and Prepare for Questions
Audience analysis, the first step in preparing a speech, should always include consideration of questions the group will have about your information and opposing viewpoints. Plan for these questions specifically in your question-answer period and prepare succinct responses.
Here’s an acronym we use to coach students in formulating a strong, memorable, spur-of-the-moment answer:
S = Summary (One-sentence summary statement of your answer)
E = Evidence (Key points to support your answer)
E = Example (Specific illustration that will make the key points memorable)
R = Restatement (Restatement of summary)
Question: “Do you think leasing space in this building will solve our overcrowding problem permanently?”
Answer:
(S) “No, I can’t see leasing more space here as a permanent solution.
(E) “The extra space available is not suitable for the kinds of shelving we want to install. For another thing, the extra space does not open to the outside corridor, and therefore, the traffic to the registration desk will still create the main peak-hour waiting lines. And neither will the extra leasing space accommodate the additional 200 or so visitors we plan to have during the spring.
(E) “If you’ll remember, two years ago we tried—with no success—to alter the traffic pattern by leasing more space on the bottom floor. People just would not walk to the end of the hall to take the alternate route. You remember Frank Tanner’s comments about his people not even having time to reach the coffee machine in 15 minutes, much less get a cup of coffee.
(R) “So, no, I don’t consider leasing more space in this building as a permanent solution to the overcrowding problem.”
With this format, you should find it much easier to be a SEER and to think on your feet. The idea is to have a thinking format to gather and present your ideas in a concise way for maximum impact and recall.
One last tip: You may want to avoid a particular issue in your prepared remarks on the lucky chance that the matter won’t surface in the question-answer period. But don’t count on it. Be prepared with an answer or at least an acknowledgment of any opposing viewpoint.
Encourage Questions When They are Slow to Come
Don’t assume that if the group voices no questions there are none. Audience members hold their tongues for any number of reasons: They haven’t shifted gears yet to active participation. They think that a question is stupid and that they should have understood your information the first time around. They may also think their question and your answer would be of limited interest and, therefore, hate to monopolize others’ time for their own clarification. They may feel particularly inept at wording their question. They may not want to risk others’ hostility with a controversial viewpoint or question. They may have understood your speech so thoroughly that they have no questions.
And your greatest three worries: They may not have understood your talk well enough to ask a question! They may have no interest at all in your subject! Or they may have written you off for credibility reasons.
To encourage questions, make sure your body language shows openness to the audience—upturned palms, wide-open arms, alert posture, raised eyebrows, a smile, movement toward the audience. All these gestures and movements show that you welcome their interaction.
Extend an invitation to questions with comments such as: “What questions do you have?” rather than “Do you have questions?” The least effective invitation is to mumble, “Are there questions?” as you glance up briefly, leaf through your notes again, or leave the stage.
Affirmations from you after questions (“Excellent question,” “Thank you for asking that,” “I’m glad someone brought that up because…”) also encourage other listeners to take a risk with their own questions.
If you anticipate difficulty in generating questions, you can distribute index cards at the beginning or end of the speech, asking participants to jot their questions down and pass them to the front. That way, you can weed through the cards, selecting the best ones. This procedure gives you maximum control and flexibility while still being responsive to the audience.
You can also generate questions with an opinion poll: “How many of you think that it would be feasible to raise this amount of money in six months’ time? In a year?” They raise their hands after each. “Lisa, you responded on six months. What gives you that confidence?” Such probing relaxes the group, encourages openness, and starts momentum for expressing opinions.
Pose your own question: “A question many groups frequently ask and one that may also be of interest to you is….” Or: “A question Bill Maxwell raised at our last meeting may still warrant discussion. He wanted to know if….” Or: “An issue I didn’t get into in my earlier remarks is Z—do any of you have a particular concern about how…?
Or you may want to repeat questions or comments overheard at the beginning: “I overheard someone earlier express the idea that…. How many of you agree?” This help on your part gives audiences time to consider their own questions and shows that you’re taking their questions seriously.
Maybe most important of all: When you do receive a question, be brief in your answer. If you take ten minutes to answer the first one or two, some participants will fear antagonizing less interested audience members by asking another question that may lengthen your speech another half hour.
Determine Whether to Repeat or Not Repeat the Question
If the sound is so poor in the room that questions from the audience can’t be heard, certainly you should repeat them for all to hear. You may want to repeat some questions, if not all, simply to give yourself time to think.
But to repeat a question in a small-group setting where everyone obviously heard is redundant and makes you sound like a parrot.
And you never want to repeat hostile questions because it’s difficult to do so without sounding hostile or defensive yourself. The other danger is that you reinforce the negative thought or the opposing viewpoint in your audience’s mind.
Maintain Control of the Audience
Set boundaries at the beginning of the session as to what kinds of questions you will take, the number of questions you have time for, and who will respond to each.
“I’ll ask you not to bring up the issues of X and Y for security reasons.” “We won’t let ourselves get into the Z matter because of the current litigation.” “I prefer to deal with questions only in the area of A and B rather than C, which headquarters can more appropriately deal with.” All these comments at the beginning set the stage for your control of what is to follow.
Then when someone asks an irrelevant question, you can defer the answer to a private dialogue afterward and not waste the group’s time or seem unresponsive to their needs. You will also limit the occasion for questions unrelated to your topic or expertise.
And no one says that you must answer all the questions. If you consider a question out-of-line, confidential, personal, irrelevant, or of little interest to the rest of the group, you can always deflect it, reroute it, challenge it, or simply defer answering it. “I’m afraid that’s out of my area of expertise; would someone else like to respond?” “Jack, I’m curious about why you’re asking that question; didn’t you and Mark work those issues out earlier?” “Do we really need to answer that question, or would it be more advantageous to focus on…?”
Finally, take questions in turn and don’t let a few monopolize: “I regret that we’ll not have time to finish with all the questions from those of you who are so perceptive with additional thoughts. But we do need to wrap this up. I’ll be around here for a few minutes if any of you would like to follow up one on one.”
Listen to the Question
Listening to the questions may not be as easy as it sounds. If you’re nervous, if you’re lambasting yourself about a previous error, if you’re worrying about the time, or if you’re threatened by the hostile body language of someone in the room, it’s easy to miss the point of what the questioner is asking. Poor listening may cause you to fumble a question you could have easily fielded.
Compounding the matter is the fact that the asker may give too much background or irrelevant information before getting to the real point. And the asker may not have a clear understanding of what his or her real question is!
To avoid giving an off-base answer, clarify with a probing question of your own: “Let me see if I understand your question correctly. You want to know if…?” Or: “Is your question thus-and-so? Or are you really asking if it is possible to…?”
Give your best effort to understanding the true question rather than concentrating on preparing your reply to contradict or refute the asker’s viewpoint. Finally, show that you are listening with attentive body language, such as leaning forward, head tilted in reflection, and steady eye contact.
Think Before You Answer
Even when an answer pops quickly to mind, pause before rushing ahead. With frequently asked questions, it’s tempting to give the canned answer when, with a little forethought, you can customize your answer, making it even more responsive to the asker.
To allow even more thinking time, you can use props such as removing or replacing eye glasses, taking a sip of water, striding to another spot in the room before turning to face the group, or tilting your head and rubbing your chin as if reflecting on the brilliance of the question.
You can also buy thinking time by commenting on the question itself: “That’s a tough question.” “That’s a perceptive question.” “I anticipated someone asking that and I don’t know if I’m going to have an answer that you’ll agree with or find completely satisfying, but….”
You may say honestly: “Let me think about that a moment” and then repeat the question to yourself aloud, “Ummm, what would I recommend if….” Such a pause and repetition renews the audience’s attention as they anticipate why the question required serious reflection.
You may refuse to answer at all: “I’m not at liberty to answer that now.” “That piece of the puzzle is still in the works now. May I get back to you on that later?”
Overview Your Answer Briefly, Then Elaborate
The question-answer period is not the place to redo your speech. When asked a question, respond with a headline message, then elaborate very briefly. Your audience will understand the elaboration much better within the context of your overview answer.
Here are a couple of examples of this technique: “In a word, my answer is yes. Management is aware of the problem and we’re trying to correct it. Last week, for example….” Another example of overviewing and then elaborating: “I don’t think it’s too expensive, no. It costs less than X and Y. Here’s how I think we can finance the first phase….”
Direct the Answers to the Entire Audience
Begin your answer while maintaining eye contact with the asker, and then after a few seconds glance away and sweep the entire group. Direct the remainder of your answer to everyone and make your comments generic enough for their interests also.
Remember that you do not have to satisfy every questioner completely because some will never stop their follow-up questions. Others may persist in presenting their own viewpoints even after you’ve given your answer. Keep in mind that you don’t have to answer every question fully. Just make your point briefly, break eye contact with the asker, then turn to the entire group and ask for the next question.
Use Your Answers to Reinforce Your Points
“I’m glad you brought that issue up because it will give me opportunity to elaborate on…” realigns the question with one you really want or need to answer. You can also refocus the question to make it bigger or smaller: “The larger issue that most of the industry will be concerned with is…; therefore, let me put my answer in a larger context.” Or: “Yes, that is the big-picture problem, but let me bring it a little closer to home with the more direct issue of….”
Go in either direction with the question to reinforce what you think is the essential viewpoint or message of interest.
Polish Your Techniques for Handling “Problem” Questions
Show-Off Questions
These are the questions asked merely to show the asker’s own knowledge of the subject or accomplishments. Recognize the reason behind the question, then comment only briefly and go to the next question. If this kind of questioner persists, you may have to add a comment such as the following to keep him or her from monopolizing the situation: “I’m not sure I’m understanding your question in all this. Would you please ask the specific question again.”
The asker will generally fumble into focusing on a question that you can answer briefly and use to regain control.
Off-the-Subject Questions
If the question is completely off the wall, you may simply gaze at the asker momentarily and then move on without a response at all—as if you didn’t quite understand the point.
You may ask if someone else has a similar concern. If so, answer briefly. If not, ask for permission to hold the question until the end, “if there’s time.”
Or you may comment: “Interesting idea, but how does that relate to Y?” The asker will usually mumble that it doesn’t and acquiesce or ask a more relevant question.
“That’s interesting and something worth further thought, but right now I’d like to spend our time focusing on….” will usually put the matter to rest. Or: “I hadn’t expected a question of that nature. May we discuss that later—just you and I?” The asker will usually be reinforced by the personal attention offered and you won’t lose the rest of the audience.
Limited-Interest Questions
When possible, bridge from the limited perspective to the larger issue at hand: “With reference to your specific situation, my opinion is that…, but the larger issue here seems to be….” Continue by making application to the entire audience.
Ask: “Does anyone else here have that concern?” Pause and look around, then continue: “Well, let me give you a brief answer and let’s talk about that later one on one—will that be more helpful?”
Then break eye contact and move on.
“Dumb” Questions
Don’t chance cutting someone off with what sounds like a “dumb” question but may be a very intelligent one after all. Rather, the “dumb” question may be a result of advanced, complex thinking that may not have occurred to you. The question may be quite relevant and you simply don’t understand the relevance because of limited expertise. Probe further to make sure you understand completely: “I’m afraid I’m not following the question. Would you explain further exactly how X relates to Y?”
Rambling or Long-Winded Questions
You may interrupt with, “Excuse me, but do I understand your central question to be…?” Or: “Excuse me, but I think I now have the drift of your question. My response is simply that….”
Unintelligible Questions
If you cannot understand the question because the asker has a heavy dialect or is fuzzy in his wording, pick one phrase or part of the question to deal with and frame a question that you think he or she may be asking.
Multiple Questions
In response to long, complex questions with irrelevant information thrown into the pot, you may have difficulty remembering everything that was asked along the way. When that’s the case, either answer the questions you remember, answer the last one, answer the most important one, or ask the questioner to repeat them slowly while you write them down. Then respond one by one.
You can defer some of them with: “If I understand completely, you’ve asked me four good questions. Let me answer the first two and come back to the others later if there’s time.”
Hypothetical Questions
Be careful that you don’t get trapped here. Express your disagreement with assumptions and say so when you think such a situation is highly unlikely. End with: “I prefer to concern myself with the real here-and-now in formulating policy on this issue. For the present situation, I still consider….”
Or refocus with: “James, we have so many real-life situations at hand that I’d rather stick with those concrete facts, if you don’t mind.” Or: “There are so many unknowns and variables in hypothetical questions that it would be difficult to give a meaningful answer to that concern. In the case of Z, is your interest more about…?”
Forced “Yes or No,” “A or B” Questions
If you can answer with a simple yes or no, do so. But if you prefer not to see the matter in black or white, say so: “I think we have to be careful here not to back ourselves into a corner with either answer. Either simple answer can keep us from seeing the extenuating circumstances that might alter….” Or: “I don’t think a simple yes or no would do justice to the issue.” Or: “I think we’d make a mistake to put it in either-or terms. There are so many issues that can affect….”
Finally, you can expand your options: “I think we have more than those two alternatives. Rather than A or B, a third possibility is to….”
Questions You Don’t Know the Answers to
You may defer the question to someone in the room with more expertise in that area: “I’m not sure I can adequately elaborate on that. Jeff, will you offer your expertise here?” You will win respect for your honesty and the support of the more experienced person you deferred the question to.
Never be afraid to say simply, “I don’t know. I’ll have to check on that information and get back to you.” And then do so.
Hostile Questions
If you expect hostile questions, you may request that all questioners state their names, companies, and titles before they ask questions. Some will think twice before they blurt out a hostile comment and risk associating it with their company. Anonymity is great protection.
Try to determine the reason for any hostility. By acknowledging and sympathizing with the legitimate feelings of the asker, you may defuse the hostility and help him or her receive your answer in a much less hostile manner.
The questioner’s hostility may be a reflection of his business agenda or his personality and may have little to do with you. Simply let the asker vent his emotions, and then go to the next question after a brief statement of your opinion.
Some questioners use a pseudo-courteous tone to wrap a hostile question. If so, reply just as courteously, but without the sarcasm.
You may even try a little humor or drama before answering, such as throwing your hand across your heart as if you’d been shot. “You may have hit me on that one.” Then proceed to answer as calmly as you can.
For frivolously hostile questions, you can relay the question back to the asker or to another person: “Mr. Jones, I feel uncomfortable in responding to that question. Maybe you’d just like to tell us how you would answer that question were you in my place?”
If you think the hostility is limited to one person’s viewpoint, you can let the group respond on your behalf: “Do any of the rest of you agree with that viewpoint? Does anyone else want to respond?” The silence will be a great answer. Or you may add your own in a courteous way.
Don’t feel that you have to refute the opposing view in great detail, particularly if the hostile view was not well supported itself. Simply comment: “No, I don’t think that’s the case.” No elaboration. Your answer will sound authoritative and final and will put the asker in the position of being rude and argumentative if he/she rephrases and continues.
If you can easily do so, rephrase a legitimate question minus the hostile tone: The question is: “Why are you demanding six years’ funding up front?” Repeat the question aloud: “Why do we think six years’ funding at the outset is necessary? Well, first of all….”
Above all, do not match hostility with hostility; instead, try to remain congenial in your answer. The audience will almost always side with (or at least empathize with and respect) the person who remains the calmest and most courteous.
Remember that the way you answer questions will always be remembered more clearly and for much longer than the content of your answer.
Conclude the Question-Answer Period with a Summary
Don’t let your speech limp to a close after the last question with “Well, if there are no more questions, that’s about all, folks.” Instead, firmly conclude with your prepared closing remarks. Here is where you actually use your prepared closing—that pithy quote or challenging question that will leave your audience charged and ready to act. In fact, some speakers prepare two closings: the one that ends their prepared speech and leads into the question-answer period and then one that wraps up the entire session with high impact.
If you’re lucky, you may happen to get a question that’s a great lead-in to your prepared closing. If so, use it as impetus to your conclusion and you’ll look even more eloquent and in control.
Maybe the very idea of questioning got off to a bad start when we as children were told never to question our parents’ decisions or commands. And schools sometimes reinforce the idea that questions negatively challenge the instructor’s authority. Certainly, we all remember the loudmouthed smart aleck whose every question was a challenge. Or maybe we’ve seen too many LA Law dramas where the judge instructs the witness in a booming tone: “Just answer the question.”
Don’t let those experiences keep you from making your speech all it can be. Allow questions and watch your audience’s mood, interest, and body language switch from low gear to high. Questions clarify, tailor, and reinforce your key message. To your audience, they are your statement of openness, genuineness, courtesy, and goodwill.
