21 Making Oral Presentations

Answering Questions After a Presentation

Printed Page 600-601

Answering Questions After a Presentation

When you finish a presentation, thank the audience simply and directly: “Thank you for your attention.” Then invite questions. Don’t abruptly ask, “Any questions?” This phrasing suggests that you don’t really want any questions. Instead, say something like this: “If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to try to answer them now.” If invited politely, people will be much more likely to ask questions, and you will be more likely to succeed in communicating your information effectively.

When you respond to questions, you might encounter any of these four situations:

You’re not sure everyone heard the question. Ask if people heard it. If they didn’t, repeat or paraphrase it, perhaps as an introduction to your response: “Your question is about the efficiency of these three techniques.” Some speakers always repeat the question, which gives them an extra moment to prepare an answer.
You don’t understand the question. Ask for clarification. After responding, ask if you have answered the question adequately.
You have already answered the question during the presentation. Restate the answer politely. Begin your answer with a phrase such as the following: “I’m sorry I didn’t make that point clear in my talk. I wanted to explain how . . . .” Never insult an audience member by pointing out that you already answered the question.
A belligerent member of the audience rejects your response and insists on restating his or her original point. Politely offer to discuss the matter further after the presentation. If you are lucky, the person won’t continue to bore or annoy the rest of the audience.

If it is appropriate to stay after the session to talk individually with members of the audience, offer to do so.

ETHICS NOTE

ANSWERING QUESTIONS HONESTLY

If an audience member asks a question to which you do not know the answer, admit it. Simply say, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure, but I think the answer is . . . .” Smart people know that they don’t know everything. If you have some ideas about how to find out the answer—by checking a particular reference source, for example—share them. If the question is obviously important to the person who asked it, you might offer to meet with him or her to discuss ways for you to provide a more complete response later, perhaps by email.