Following your virtual or live presentation, hands go up in the room. Most of the questions will be about additional information that you will easily provide; some will have a higher degree of difficulty and others will be even more difficult or even embarrassing to answer. Here are some ideas to consider about your Q&A management strategy, as many of your listeners will see this as a test of your knowledge of the subject, your integrity, and your leadership skills.
- Audience
First, answer as if this question should be of interest to all members of the audience. If you only direct your answer to the person who asked the question, you could run the risk of alienating part of the audience. - Understanding
Be sure you have understood the question. It is good practice to rephrase the question in more succinct terms before providing an answer. - Presentation
Remember that the answer to a question is basically a very small presentation. All the rules of a good presentation apply: Natural eye contact, stable position, congruent gestures, confident voice projection, voice inflection and facial animation that attract interest and keep the attention of your listeners. - Simplicity
Choose simple and powerful words while keeping your answer short. What listeners want is a clear explanation, not a full presentation of everything you know on the topic. - Emotions
Be in control of your emotions even if you might have been destabilized by the question or by the malicious intent of that question. No diatribe or settling of scores in public. - Safety
It is always better to talk about what you know, what is normally recognized and to remain modest. Crossing these lines is often perilous.
Remember: credibility, integrity, and leadership.