{"id":4406,"date":"2020-06-24T14:40:18","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T14:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/?p=4406"},"modified":"2023-12-31T01:51:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-31T01:51:06","slug":"tough-presentation-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/tough-presentation-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deal with Tough Presentation Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><b>This blog will help you to successfully handle tough questions during your presentation.<\/b><\/h3>\n<h5><strong>How do you respond to unexpected\/challenging questions?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h6><strong>A fearful scenario<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>You\u2019ve prepared fully for <a href=\"\/syl\/312\/advanced-presentation-skills.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">your presentation<\/a> and it&#8217;s flowing smoothly as planned, with the audience hanging on every word.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly, out of the blue, someone interrupts you with a comment or question, which takes you completely by surprise because of its tone and ferocity. It stops you in your tracks mid-sentence!<\/p>\n<p>If this challenge is not met appropriately, you can easily lose control of the meeting and, possibly, the respect of attendees.<\/p>\n<h6><strong>Top tips to handle tough questions<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>One of the greatest fears for public speakers is that their audience will not like them and\/or confront them with <a href=\"https:\/\/mindfulpresenter.com\/presentation-skills-killer-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a question they are unable to answer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, remember that you are upfront and centre on merit, based on your knowledge, expertise, role and responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>The audience wants to hear what you have to say and will normally hope that you can deliver your message clearly, confidently and successfully.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3633\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3633\" style=\"width: 6000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3633\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Pres-Skills-Audience.jpg\" alt=\"Successfully handle tough questions in your presentation\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Pres-Skills-Audience.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Pres-Skills-Audience-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Pres-Skills-Audience-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Pres-Skills-Audience-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Successfully handle tough questions in your presentation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h6><strong>Analyse your audience in advance<\/strong> to establish an empathetic relationship:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>What is their role, experience and agenda?<\/li>\n<li>WIIFT What\u2019s in it for them?<\/li>\n<li>Put yourself in their shoes<\/li>\n<li>Anticipate 5 \u2018Killer\u2019 questions they might fire at you eg financial, deadlines, resources etc. Then include the answers in the body of your presentation!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Step into the difficult question<\/strong>, physically moving forwards to engage with the questioner:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid retreating on to \u2018the back foot\u2019, indicating that you are struggling with your response and retreating, opening yourself up to further attack<\/li>\n<li>Questions are only perceived as difficult if you display signs of discomfort<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Make eye contact<\/strong> to reinforce engagement:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>Clarify their question and paraphrase to ensure correct interpretation\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cIf I understand you correctly, you are asking\u2026\u2026 Is that right?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Repeat the question if the audience might not have heard it<\/li>\n<li>Direct your answer to everyone (don\u2019t allow that person to dominate proceedings)<\/li>\n<li>Avert your eyes from the questioner as you finish to avoid another question from them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Give yourself time<\/strong> to consider your answer:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>Pause, take a deep breath or sip of water<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Find something you can agree with<\/strong>, even if you strongly disagree:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>Try not to create tension or conflict<\/li>\n<li>Listen carefully to their argument to see where you can find agreement\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cYou may be right in certain situations\/I don\u2019t entirely agree. My approach might be more effective in other circumstances and work well with your solution\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Acknowledge you\u2019ve fully heard the question &#8211; it&#8217;s easier to present your opinion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Accept that you will not always know the answer<\/strong> to a question which catches you out on the day, however well-prepared you are:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>That\u2019s OK. Don\u2019t panic.<\/li>\n<li>Admit you don\u2019t know and assure the questioner you will contact them with your response later (note their name and email address).\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cI don\u2019t know but I\u2019ll find out and let you know\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t make up an answer!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Don\u2019t take comments personally:<\/strong><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>Try not to take hostility personally<\/li>\n<li>Remain politely detached<\/li>\n<li>Acknowledge their contribution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>Take control of Q&amp;A. Make sure you finish strongly and have the last word.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Remember&#8230;<\/strong>\u00a0<em>\u201cYou are performing for the group, not for a few outspoken individuals\u2026\u201d<\/em> Jeremy Bailenson PhD, Stanford University Psychology Professor<\/p>\n<p>Learn more tips and tricks like these in our<a href=\"\/presentation-skills-london.php\"> Presentation Skills<\/a> training!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog will help you to successfully handle tough questions during your presentation. How do you respond to unexpected\/challenging questions?\u00a0 A fearful scenario\u00a0 You\u2019ve prepared fully for your presentation and it&#8217;s flowing smoothly as planned, with the audience hanging on every word. Suddenly, out of the blue, someone interrupts you with a comment or question, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,638,636],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hints-tips","category-professional-management","category-soft-skills"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4406"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5224,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4406\/revisions\/5224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}