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The best parts of
most business presentations are the question and answer sessions. Of
course, it’s a good idea to tell your listeners to “feel free to ask
questions at any time.”
But there are
several strategies to ensure that your audience engages in lots of
Q&A. Here are five.
Reserve half of
your time for Q&A:
If you have a 30-minute presentation, you should prepare no more
than 15 minutes of “lecture.” Too often, Q&A is treated as an
afterthought: “We'll take questions at the end.” But Q&A
is when the audience can seek answers to its most important
questions. Why not give them plenty of time for getting those
answers?
Don’t put off
raised hands:
When someone raises a hand with a question, drop everything and
answer it. Even if the question deals with something that you will
address later. You want to make it clear to the audience that you
welcome questions. Putting off questions – such as putting them in
the so-called “Parking lot”— sends the message that you consider
questions a bother. If the question is a little out of order, give
a brief answer and tell them that you’ll deal with it more as the
presentation goes forward.
Keep the slides to
a minimum:
Having too many slides sends the message that the presentation is
very tightly packed and that you probably won’t have time for questions. The
audience thinks, “Wow, this guy has 60 slides. If I ask any
questions, we’ll never get out of here.” If you have fewer and
simpler slides, it sends the message that the presentation is
“roomy” and has plenty of time for audience interaction.
Look happy to get
questions:
Smile at the questioner and nod with interest. The reason that
you’re giving a presentation is to help the audience understand.
You should be thrilled when someone asks a question. Act thrilled.
You don’t have to say “great question.” Just take the
question seriously and not like it’s an interruption. Smiling at the
questioner is like rewarding a dog for sitting on command. Once
rewarded, the chances are the audience will ask more.
Ask yourself a
question:
Sometimes presenters will ask for questions and no one in the
audience will raise their hand. First, we recommend that you wait.
Often, if you sit silent for 10 seconds or so, people will begin to
raise their hands. But you can also “prime the pump” by asking the
first question: “One of the most common questions we get is. . .”
That will often get the Q&A session going.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
