How to Handle Difficult Questions After a Presentation

Handling questions after a presentation can be one of the most challenging parts of public speaking. A difficult or unexpected question can quickly undermine your confidence, but with the right approach you can remain in control and respond with clarity and authority. Here’s how to handle difficult questions after a presentation and make the question-and-answer session work in your favour.

Here is a scenario that can feel extremely uncomfortable. You are coming to the end of your presentation and you know from the reaction and feedback you are getting from the audience that everything has gone very well. You finish and receive a warm and rousing round of applause. So far, so great. Rather than taking a bow and exiting the stage the event organiser has requested that you remain where you are and then asks if anyone in the audience has a question. This is the very moment that things can change and can change very quickly. It creates an unnecessarily awkward moment not just for the speaker but for almost everyone in the room; and yet it is common practice and, in my view, almost completely without merit.

Types of Questions You May Get After a Presentation

In the event that the organiser does invite questions they will, by default, encourage three types of questioners:

1. The person who feels that they have to ask a question in case nobody else does, to avoid what they consider to be an uncomfortable situation for everyone. The result tends not to be very helpful and undermines all your good work.
2. The person who does ask a thoughtful question, which for the most part you are able to answer to their satisfaction, however on occasion it will be a question that you do not know the answer to. The result tends not to be very helpful and undermines your good work.
3. The person who thinks that they are clever and wants to show off to people who they know in the audience by asking an intentionally difficult question. The result tends – yes, you have guessed it, not to be very helpful and undermines all your good work.

Take Control of the Question and Answer Session

If You Are The Speaker, Then You are In Charge!!

You must control what happens immediately before, during and immediately after your presentation. The word “your” is the operative word. The trade-off for agreeing to present (remember the vast majority of other people in the room would not exchange places with you) is that; content, duration (within reason) and delivery are for you and you alone to decide.  You may have to negotiate all or some of the aforementioned with the organiser (or your colleague or even your boss), but it will be best for everyone involved. Part of your discussion about delivery is to insist when and how you take any questions. To avoid the three types of questions, mentioned above, that are not very helpful and undermine all your good work; this is what you need to do.

Invite Questions During Your Presentation

At first, you may read this and think how can this work? Well, this is how: Once you have established yourself on stage and you are feeling confident and in addition you know that the audience also thinks that you are confident (or, at the very least, you have convinced them that you are confident), probably about 5 minutes in; say to the audience that if they have any “pressing questions” that they should raise their hand and you will get to them as soon as it is possible.

This is what happens:

1. You will only receive pressing questions which are relevant to the most recent part of your presentation, which you will be able to answer with authority.
2. The questions asked will be based on genuine interest, either because an audience member has not entirely understood or not heard what it is you have said and needs some clarification. Once again, you will be able to answer the question with authority.
3. During the flow of the main event audiences tend not to ask questions with the intention of tripping you up. At this point you are in control of the room and no one wants to feel your displeasure and that of their fellow audience members for the duration of the talk if they try and show off. Therefore, any question will be benign and you will, of course, be able to answer the question with authority.

Additional Benefits of Taking Questions During a Presentation

Additional Positive Consequences

There are some other benefits to you when you invite questions during your presentation:

1. You free the mind of the person with the pressing question, so they are not trying to work out the answer for themselves which means, for that time, they are not listening to you.
2. You release them early from their own nervousness. The thought of asking a question in front of a room full of people distracts them from you because they are rehearsing the question in their head, which means, once again, that they are not listening to you.
3. You can allow the appreciation at the end of your presentation, in the form of applause, land sweetly. Absorb all the applause, say thank you, take a bow and then get off!

How to Answer Questions After a Presentation

When Answering Questions, Remember:

1. Listen carefully to the question
2. Pause before you answer
3. Make sure you understand the question (you can request clarification)
4. Keep your answer clear and concise
5. Bring the question back to where you were when you gave way.

Build Your Confidence as a Public Speaker

Handling difficult questions becomes much easier when you feel confident in your ability to communicate, think on your feet and stay in control of the room. If you want to improve your public speaking skills and become more confident when presenting, Ashley Boroda can help you identify the areas that are holding you back and develop practical strategies to improve.

Find out more about working with Ashley Boroda to build your confidence and communication skills.