Questions from the audience are a sign that you have created an impact and engaged with people, so welcome them. As with the rest of the presentation, the best way to answer questions is to be prepared. These tips should help:

• Change things to answer questions – change your position in the room. If appropriate, perch on the edge of a table. Say something like: ‘Now let’s pause for half a minute while I get my breath back and you think about what questions you want to ask me’
• Embrace the question, although don’t say ‘That’s a good question’ because you may get ‘That’s why I asked it’ back. Instead say: ‘I’m glad you asked that, it gives me a chance to...’ or ‘That’s an interesting angle...’
• Look keen. Don’t stand with one eyebrow raised (‘I can’t believe you asked that’), sigh or interrupt. 

It is much better to:

• Pay close attention and signal courteous interest
• Pause, and let the questioner see you are thinking about the answer
• Play back and re-frame the question to make sure you have heard correctly. Say: ‘Let me rephrase that; you seem to be asking...’
• Check with the questioner that you have answered satisfactorily.

Use audience questions to reinforce your message by referring back to slides and reiterating arguments. Use the question and answer time as an extra opportunity to present. If you don’t know the answer, be honest. Offer to research the topic and get back to them. 

Don’t lie – if someone catches you, you will lose all credibility. Alternatively, throw the question out to the audience. If someone is an expert in the field, they will appreciate the chance to speak. But remember, you are still in control. If an audience member launches into a monologue, move on.

Pause to reflect

Go back to the presentations you were looking at on demand for the previous exercise. Now review them to see how the presenters measured up in avoiding our ‘bad habits’. 

• Did the presenter’s approach irritate you? yes/no
• Did you notice lots of filler words? yes/no 
• Was the presenter’s appearance distracting? yes/no
• Were there obvious errors in the slides? yes/no
• Were there too many slides, or were they hard to read? yes/no
• How did the presenter relate to you? Did you feel they were addressing you personally? yes/no

Were any of these things enough to put you off watching further?

Further reading

• Caplin J. I hate presentations. Chichester: Capstone (Wiley); 2008
• Ehrenborg J, Mattock J. Powerful presentations: simple ideas for making a real impact. 
• 2nd edition. London: Kogan Page; 2008
• Hindle T. Making presentations. Essential Managers Series. London: Dorling Kindersley; 1998.