Yes, that segment you often dread in your presentations, pitches, and speeches is an untapped opportunity for influence.
The question and answer (Q&A) phase often heightens the anxiety you feel as you head into the conference room or mount the podium — with good reason.
After all, despite your best preparations, you can’t always predict the questions you’ll be asked. You can anticipate some based on pain points linked to your subject or similar questions asked in the past. But you’ll never really know where the question trail will lead.
And that uncertainty will likely faze you. After all, the last thing you need, after fighting the usual nerves to face an (unfamiliar) audience, is to look incompetent or unknowledgeable.
But here’s what I’ve noticed in my nine years of teaching, coaching, speaking, lecturing, and facilitating workshops and training programmes:
The Q&A segment will diminish or amplify your delivery.
And I don’t make this claim lightly. An effective Q&A stint will compensate for your lacklustre pitch/speech/presentation or less-than-stellar performance.
Mastering the Q&A session is not about knowing the answers to all questions but more about confidently sharing your views and connecting with the audience.
If you still need to be convinced about the redeeming qualities of an excellent Q&A segment, then below are foolproof practices you should adopt for excellence.
1) Prepare for tough questions by playing the devil’s advocate
You may know your material thoroughly, but to consider other angles, prepare to tackle questions that test your recommendations.
For example, my expertise lies in teaching professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders how to use effective communication to increase their influence and generate results. So, suppose I’m delivering a keynote or training programme on that premise. In that case, I should also determine why and when effective communication will not lead to increased influence and the desired results.
By playing the devil’s advocate, I can prepare for counterarguments and consider that my recommendations won’t be practical in certain situations.
This tactic might seem counterproductive, and on the surface, it risks negating my entire presentation.
However, in my case, playing the devil’s advocate will highlight my balanced views (i.e. not the narrowmindedness that tends to plague experts). Moreover, I’ll be able to communicate to the audience that I’m open and humble enough to acknowledge that I don’t know it all — making me relatable and, therefore, persuasive.
Still, there’s an art to pulling off this tactic, and it’s not by being self-effacing. If someone challenges your ideas, you can address them easily because you’ve played the devil’s advocate in the preparation stage:
‘You’re right. And thanks for highlighting that exception. In the situation you described, my recommendations might lead to unintended outcomes. However, if I could stress one thing, it’s this: You…’
And then, segue to your strongest point, which Joel Schwartzberg, author of Get to the Point recommends by using the ‘I believe that…test’.
If no one asks you a question to refute your big idea, then be bold and include a statement that will serve as a caveat for your recommendations.
Rather than becoming flustered when audience members strongly disagree with you, brace yourself for the challenge.
Remember you prepared for that moment. So, first, acknowledge their viewpoints (so they feel validated), then share a powerful insight and move on.
2) Use nonverbal behaviours strategically
How your body communicates to your audience in the Q&A session can dissipate awkwardness or fuel confrontations.
Be mindful of your posture, gestures, micro-expressions, and vocal dynamics (tone, pace, pitch, and volume). Even pauses, often hailed as a powerful tool of persuasion, can become uncomfotable when they’re too long.
Fair or not, you’re being assessed and judged when you’re in front of an audience. Therefore, also learn how to ‘milk’ first impressions and exude confidence with your nonverbal cues and behaviours.
Good practices include the following:
- ensuring your body is fully visible as much as possible and not obstructed by barriers (furniture, lectern, etc.)
- gesturing with open hands/arms at navel height to trigger trust (and we can thank Mark Bowden for this helpful tip. Watch his TEDx talk for details)
- facing the audience and not turning your back on them to click and advance slides
- maintaining good eye contact with different sections of the audience
- speaking in varied, measured tones (so you disagree without becoming disagreeable)
- pausing (with a sweet spot being between four and six seconds)
- using movements to signal transitions in examples and stepping closer to the audience where appropriate
- nodding and smiling
Also, be sensitive to the audience’s nonverbal cues, even though you shouldn’t be quick to make sweeping judgements.
For example, folded arms across chests don’t necessarily mean people are ‘tuning off’ your content. Similarly, their scowling faces don’t always indicate that they disagree or are irritated with you. Still, don’t obsess about the audience’s body language and focus on controlling yours.
Bottom line:
Use your body language behaviours to present the best version of yourself so you connect better with your audience. But ensure your nonverbal cues complement your verbal delivery to increase trust.
3) Handle hostile questioners tactfully but firmly
Alas, at some point in your career or business, when you give speeches or presentations, you’ll face hostile audience members. And how you handle them will be a test of your professionalism.
Before you conclude that some audience members are the devil’s spawn, pay attention to their underlying intent.
There’re two categories of hostile questioners, and you’ll need a different strategy for each to emerge unscathed from the confrontations.
Type A): The genuine questioners
How to identify them:
Audience members in this category genuinely want to know the answer despite lacking the skills to communicate their frustration tactfully or to seek clarification.
You will identify them because their questions make sense and are valid — highlighting a grey area you didn’t address or an unfamiliar situation that discredits your recommendations.
How to handle them:
If the hostile questioner, Mr T, asks a question, and you don’t understand it, take a breath. Ignore his defensive body language cues and combative tone, then calmly ask a clarifying question:
‘I’d like to address your question thoroughly, so please clarify: Do you mean a or b?’
If he goes off on a tangent, rephrase. If he still fails to answer, politely inform him that you’ll need to move on to others due to limited time. But invite him to meet you after the programme for further discussion.
In another scenario, Mr T might ask a clear question, and you respond. But he wishes to prolong the discourse and is hell-bent on exploring multiple angles. Wrap up quickly so the hostile questioner doesn’t monopolise the Q&A segment.
Type B): The maddening questioners
How to identify them:
They’re not interested in whatever you say.
You may have noticed their previous tendency to interrupt you or others. They speak often, are loud, and (unfortunately for you) are articulate. They seem to enjoy hearing themselves speak when everyone is quiet. They also refuse to enjoy moments of levity with other audience members (so they won’t smile or laugh along with others).
Their mission is to discredit you or make you appear incompetent. Their body nonverbal cues are tense, and they seem poised for war.
How to handle them:
Don’t fall for their trap. Only answer questions they ask. If they make statements to weaken your credibility, acknowledge their opinion, then prod them for a question.
So, for example, if Ms Z, a questioner in this category, doesn’t have a question and only states her position to disagree with something you highlighted, proceed decisively:
‘I hear what you’ve shared about x and understand that was your experience. The critical point about y is that it will…’
If she has a question, ignore her biting tone and answer it. If she has other objections to your answer, refuse to take her bait and invite her to discuss it with you after the session. Again, stress that you must move on to cover other important sections.
Further attempts from Ms X will likely be shut down by other audience members who would have witnessed the exchange.
Seven years ago, I encountered a hostile questioner in this category. I was facilitating a communication session for executive MBA students at a double-accredited, globally ranked business school. At that time, I was ill-equipped to handle her how I should have. Read about what happened here. The good news is that I learned valuable lessons from that encounter and subsequent interactions with that executive.
Commit to handling such hostile questioners confidently and bravely.
Conclusion
A final point: Don’t finish your speech or presentation with the Q&A segment, no matter how well it goes.
End strong (e.g., by making a declaration, a call to action, or closing the story loop) because that is your audience’s last impression of you.
Note that a great Q&A session will win over previous sceptics and position you as the solution provider, even if you’re not the most experienced. Nonetheless, you’ll need to know your content thoroughly and be prepared to defend your ideas.
Don’t leave the Q&A phase to chance, but use the recommendations given in this article to power your delivery.
Then watch what happens.
Over to you:
Do you need help boosting your communication skills to get results? Sign up for my transformational speaking, coaching, and training programmes.
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N.B: First image is courtesy of Jose R. Cabello via Pixabay. Second image is courtesy of Open Clipart Vectors via Pixabay. Third image is courtesy of S K via Pixabay. Last image is courtesy of Gerd Altmann via Pixabay.