Answering Questions After a Presentation

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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:

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.