audience questions – Business Communication Coaching with Effective Training & Communication

Surviving Q&A (10/19)

April 4, 2021 by Phil Stella

(Our nostalgic trip down memory lane this month replays a popular 10/2019 piece on surviving audience questions. Many of the best practices still work in the era of Zoom presentations. They’ll all work again when we’re safely back in the land of face-to-face. Enjoy …)

This deep dive discusses how to handle audience questions. What you do … and don’t do … with them has a critical impact on your results, often more than the overall message content itself. Here are some ‘Do & Don’t’ Best Practices to help you Survive and Thrive during the Audience Q&A.

Q&As that Sizzle

July 4, 2020 by Phil Stella

As workplace presenters, you have two basic strategies for handling audience questions – holding them until the end and handling them anytime. Both approaches work, but each has some disadvantages.

There also are two hybrid strategies that involve the best features of both approaches. So, here’s how to make your Q&As Sizzle!

Brain Food

November 10, 2018 by Phil Stella

Enjoy this little treat for your Tool Kit to enjoy after your Thanksgiving feast with my compliments. I’m so pleased that you continue to value this short and simple feature. And this month’s questions are …

Surviving Questions

February 20, 2017January 2, 2017 by Phil Stella

What you do with audience questions has a critical impact on your results, often more than the overall content itself. I’m pleased with the positive reader reaction to previous articles that discussed several effective strategies for handling those questions – hold them until the end, invite them anytime or the two hybrid strategies described in detail last month.

So … someone asks a question. Now what do you do? Here are some Best Practices to help you survive and thrive during the Q&A.

Two Smart Alternatives

December 3, 2016December 3, 2016 by Phil Stella

Looks like last month’s piece on handling audience questions generated lots of interest, especially about the Two Smart Alternatives I said would be in this month’s ‘Communicate Confidently!’. So … here you go.

As discussed last time, choosing which audience question strategy – anytime or only at the end – is not easy because neither one works best for all presenters, all messages and all audiences. But here are two smart alternatives for this dilemma, … two hybrid strategies that involve the best features of both approaches.

Any Questions?

November 1, 2016 by Phil Stella

It’s time to add some Best-in-Class strategies for handling audience questions to your growing Workplace Presenter’s Tool Kit. What they ask and how you respond can make or break your credibility, impact your confidence and influence your outcomes.

If you thoroughly planned and prepared your presentation, that detailed process should help you anticipate 90% of the questions 90% of the audience will ask 90% of the time. Not bad odds for sure.

What to say & not say

August 10, 2015August 1, 2014 by Phil Stella

The last two issues of ‘Communicate Confidently!’ discussed the ‘why’ and ‘when’ of managing the audience question process. Today, we move on to the ‘how’ and what to say and not say when responding to those questions. So, learn from these Best Practices for Success:

Any Questions?

August 10, 2015June 2, 2014 by Phil Stella

Surviving Q & A

August 10, 2015December 1, 2013 by Phil Stella

Previous articles discussed some effective strategies for handling audience questions – you can choose to hold them until the end, invite them anytime or try one of the hybrid strategies described in detail. So, someone asks a question. Now what do you do? Here are some Best Practices to help you survive and thrive during Q&A.