Handling the question and answer session

Answering strategies

1. The question and answer session is the most difficult part of a presentation and some presenters don’t like it. You never know what questions will be asked, so you can’t really prepare and you feel nervous. The problem is you have to say something quickly and don’t have the time to think of a clever reply. That’s why it’s important to try and predict all the questions you might be asked. Before a presentation, always make a list of questions you expect people ask. Then think about possible answers and practise them. Sometimes even get friends and colleagues to ask you questions. Of course, you can’t anticipate all the questions but at least you don’t need to worry about the ones you have thought about. You feel much more confident this way. But if you know who your audience is, it is possible to anticipate most of the questions you expect to be asked. Some of the most common questions will be something like that:

   What has to be done? How much does it cost? What are the alternatives? Who will be responsible?

   How long does it take? Is there a deadline? Do we get support/ What can go wrong?

2. You need to decide when you want to answer questions. Allowing questions during your talk usually creates a rather informal, relaxed and friendly atmosphere because the questioner shows some respect for the presenter. You can answer questions directly and involve the audience. On the other hand, answering after the presentation gives you more control of your structure and timing. If you want questions after the talk, you can say that your time frame is very tight or the topic is rather complex. Sometimes you may be asked questions during the presentation, even if you have asked the audience to wait. Whereas some questions can and should be answered quickly (for example, when a participant hasn’t understood something you’ve said), you might prefer to postpone unwelcome questions or comments using the following phrases:

• If you don’t mind, I’ll deal with this question (come back to this question) later in my presentation.

• Can we get back to that a bit later?

• Would you mind waiting with your questions until the question and answer session at the end?

• Can we get back to this point a bit later?

• I’d prefer to answer your question in the course of my presentation.

• Would you mind waiting until the question and answer session at the end?

• Perhaps we could go over this after the presentation.

After answering questions, especially those that require a long answer, it is sometimes necessary to remind the audience what you were talking about before the interruption. You can use the following phrases:

• Before we continue, let me briefly summarize the points we were discussing.

• So, back to what I was saying about …

• So, now I’d like to return to what we were discussing earlier.

3. It is sometimes necessary to reformulate a question (i.e. say it in another way) before answering it. This not only gives you time to think, it also allows you to make sure you have understood the question. With a large or noisy audience, it allows other participants to hear the question (again) and finally, it gives you the chance to change the tone of the question, e.g. making it less aggressive. You can use the following phrases and the techniques in the table below to reformulate questions:

• I see. So, what you’re asking is …

• If I understand you correctly, you want (would like) to know …

• Ok, let me just repeat tour question so everybody can hear it.

• If I could just rephrase your question!

• So, you are asking …

• So, your question is about …

• The question is about …

• You would like to know …

The question is:	You reformulate to make it:	By:
negative Isn’t there better solution?	positive What would be a better solution?	leaving out negative words such as no, never, none
aggressive Do you honestly believe we can get the contact?	neutral You’re asking whether I think it is possible to get the contact.	avoiding words which sound aggressive or have a negative meaning such as honestly, really, disaster

4. If you do not understand the question, politely ask the person to repeat it or explain it. You can use the following phrases for asking for clarification:

• I’m sorry. Could you repeat your question, please?

• I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that.

• I’m afraid I don’t quite understand your question.

• So, if I understand you correctly, you would like to know whether …

• So, in other words you would like to know whether …

• If I could just rephrase your question, you’d like to know …

• Does that answer your question?

You can simply repeat a question, using the same words in the same order, but using falling intonation. The question then becomes a statement.

5. Sometimes you may not want to answer a question, perhaps because it’s the wrong time for it or the question is irrelevant. When avoiding giving an answer, make sure that your tone of voice is friendly and your reply is polite.

• If don’t mind, I would prefer not to discuss that today.

• Perhaps we could deal with this after the presentation / at the same time.

• I’m afraid that’s not really what we’re here to discuss today.

6. If you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest and say it. Offer to find out or name a person who can answer the question. You can use the following phrases:

• Sorry, that’s not my field. But I’m sure Peter Batt from Sales could answer your question.

• I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ll try to find out for you.

• I’m afraid I’m not in a position to answer that question at the moment. Perhaps Maria could help us.

• Sorry, I don’t know that off the top of my head.

Asking questions

There are different ways of asking questions in English. If you want to be more polite (and less aggressive), it is better to use less direct questions. They are introduced with: Could you tell me …?, May I ask …?, Do you mind telling me …?, Would you mind telling me …?, I wonder…, I want to know… etc. and their verb is affirmative. There are no changes in the verb tenses as in Reported questions. If the indirect question starts with: I wonder… or I want to know…, then the question mark is omitted.

Direct questions	Less direct questions
When do you plan to move to Geneva? What is the project status?	Could you tell me when you plan to move to Geneva? Do you mind if I ask what the project status is?

Note that in polite questions it is often necessary to change the word order or add words like if or whether:

What’s the current project status? > Can you tell me what the current project status is?

Is that the final decision? > Could you tell me whether / if that’s the final decision?

Checklist for questions Listen to carefully. Make sure you have understood the question correctly. Reformulate the question in your own words. If you want to postpone the question, say why politely. If you don’t know the answer, say so and offer to find out. Answer relevant questions politely but briefly. Check that the questioner is satisfied with your answer.