Page 20 - VoicesJan2015 .pub
P. 20
to Handle
While Presenting
Tom Cox, CC, ALB
Here are six things to bear in mind when If you're not sure,
deciding how you're going to handle experiment with both approaches. If
questions during a presentation. you're undecided and it's a high-stakes
1. Know your style—Will you be more presentation, hold the questions until
effective taking questions during the talk, almost the end.
or at the end?
The first and most important point here is
For example, if you know that you get to use the approach that maximizes your
thrown off your stride by a question in the personal effectiveness with your audience.
middle of your talk, or if you have given
this talk many times (and have baked the 2. Bond with the questioner—Legendary
answers to prior questions into the presenter Somers White recommends
content of the talk), you might encourage recognizing the questioner, and then
people to hold questions until the end. taking the time to bond with them before
By contrast, you may know that you are listening to their question. Ask them their
the kind of presenter who enjoys the name, where they work, what their
dynamism of responding to questions hometown is, and so on. The audience will
during the talk, in which case you should happily tolerate a surprisingly large
definitely do that. amount of this, in part because this is a
way for the audience to get to know each
other, and because the audience enjoys
seeing you be kind to (and be interested
in) one of the audience members.
I'll take up to 90 seconds doing this. Then
and only then ask for their question.
3. Repeat the question—Repeating the
question aloud accomplishes several
things.
First, it ensures that you actually are
answering the question that the person
(Continued on page 21)
20
While Presenting
Tom Cox, CC, ALB
Here are six things to bear in mind when If you're not sure,
deciding how you're going to handle experiment with both approaches. If
questions during a presentation. you're undecided and it's a high-stakes
1. Know your style—Will you be more presentation, hold the questions until
effective taking questions during the talk, almost the end.
or at the end?
The first and most important point here is
For example, if you know that you get to use the approach that maximizes your
thrown off your stride by a question in the personal effectiveness with your audience.
middle of your talk, or if you have given
this talk many times (and have baked the 2. Bond with the questioner—Legendary
answers to prior questions into the presenter Somers White recommends
content of the talk), you might encourage recognizing the questioner, and then
people to hold questions until the end. taking the time to bond with them before
By contrast, you may know that you are listening to their question. Ask them their
the kind of presenter who enjoys the name, where they work, what their
dynamism of responding to questions hometown is, and so on. The audience will
during the talk, in which case you should happily tolerate a surprisingly large
definitely do that. amount of this, in part because this is a
way for the audience to get to know each
other, and because the audience enjoys
seeing you be kind to (and be interested
in) one of the audience members.
I'll take up to 90 seconds doing this. Then
and only then ask for their question.
3. Repeat the question—Repeating the
question aloud accomplishes several
things.
First, it ensures that you actually are
answering the question that the person
(Continued on page 21)
20
