Any questions?

May 6, 2013

any-questionsIn the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” Ben Stein plays a dorkish economics teacher who always interrupts his lectures by asking  questions with the infamous words ‘Anyone? anyone? anyone?’  The camera pans to a sea of bored students.  Ben Stein proceeds to always answer his own questions! It’s both funny and a cautionary tale for how NOT to tackle questions when you are presenting.   So here are our top tips on posing questions as part of your presentation.

Steer clear of the infamous ‘Any questions’.

This is the worst way to ask for questions as it is too broad and causes people’s minds to spin into infinity. Instead ask for any comments, observations or questions.  This gives people some options.  Or you could be specific, and say ‘I’d be happy to take questions on X, Y or Z’.  We often present on Business Storytelling so our version of this is ‘We are happy to answer your questions on storytelling in leadership or storytelling in sales’. This gives your audience a starting point and also directs the flow of questions.

Black holes

The biggest fear that presenters have with asking for questions is that they may not know the answer.  Relax, it’s perfectly OK not to know the answer to everything, you are not Google!  When you don’t know the answer, what matters is how you handle the situation.  You can say ‘I don’t have an answer for you now, but happy to research this and get back to you’.   The worst thing you can do is fumble and spin your way through an answer.  Doing that can destroy the impact of your presentation.

Rabbit holes

Sometimes, people will ask an obscure question, or for something so specific that is relevant only to them. They want to disappear down rabbit holes and take you with them. You don’t have to answer every question you are asked!  In response we will often to say ‘That is the perfect question to solve over a glass of wine, so happy to chat with you after’, if it is irrelevant to the presentation you might say ‘I am not an expert of X, but I’m sure there is someone in the audience who is an expert and would be happy to chat with you after’.  Be tactful when handling this as you do not want to deter the rest of the audience from asking further questions.

Never end on any questions

Ending on ‘any question’s leaves the end of your presentation to chance.  The last questions might be a curly one, or not the final message you want to leave your audience with.  So always allot time for the Q&A and pull back by saying “I will take one more question’ before wrapping up.  Then make sure you end on message.

So do you have any comments, observations or questions  on this post?  I would be happy to hear how you have tackled questions when you present.

As Claude Levi – Strauss said “The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s one who asks the right questions.”   Use these strategies to get your audience asking the right questions.

Hooked

Dry facts and data fade from memory over time, but an engaging story is difficult to forget. In Hooked, communication and business storytelling experts Gabrielle Dolan and Yamini Naidu use real-world examples and proven, effective techniques to teach the skill of great business storytelling. They explain what good storytelling is, why business leaders need to learn it, how to create effective stories, and how to practice for perfection.



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