Handling Questions, Blackouts, and Other Public-Speaking Emergencies

00:01 In this lecture, you'll learn how to handle audience questions during a presentation, even when you don't have the answer.

00:07 You'll learn how to remember what you were saying and where you were in your presentation. When your mind goes blank and you forget everything and you'll learn how to ask questions during a presentation so that you can keep the audience members engaged. Number one, let's talk about how to handle unexpected questions. Sometimes for a presentation, you might have to ask your audience members to hold their questions until the end.

00:30 And you probably have seen this at the beginning of presentations a lot where people will say to the audience, If you could please hold your questions until the end, I would appreciate that.

00:40 Try not to do just that.

00:42 If you ask your audience at the beginning to hold their questions until the end, you're starting out by asking something that's kind of an inconvenience for most audience members. However, if you were to instead say, make sure that if you have a question, as I'm delivering this presentation, you write it down so that I can give it my full attention and answer it during break time.

01:02 When you say something like that, that gives a benefit.

01:06 So write it down so that I can answer it fully and give it my attention during break.

01:10 Then you're giving people something to do that benefits them rather than telling them what not to do at the beginning of your presentation.

01:17 But during the presentation, even if you have done that, people will ask questions.

01:21 Sometimes as you're speaking, they'll throw them out.

01:24 They'll raise their hand and they'll interrupt you as you're speaking.

01:28 Under normal circumstances, I recommend letting people do that because people then feel more comfortable with you.

01:34 People trust you when they know I can interrupt you during your presentation and you'll pay attention to me and ask my question the next time you get a question from an audience member and you weren't expecting it.

01:44 Use this simple four step process.

01:46 It makes you look polished and it answers the question.

01:49 Number one, repeat the question.

01:52 If someone were to ask me, for example, Hey, Dan, can you tell me how I might be able to punctuate a message using a nonverbal cue? And I were to say back to them.

02:03 All right. Let me just make sure I understand the question you're asking how to punctuate a message with nonverbal cues.

02:08 Correct. When you do that, people tend to, whether it's the person asking the question or the entire audience, think, wow, they're really giving their attention to that person. Or my question.

02:19 I believe that more.

02:20 Then move along to step number two.

02:22 Answer the question.

02:23 If we don't have the answer, schedule it for later.

02:26 To answer it, you can simply say something such as? I would say, Ah.

02:30 I'm glad you asked that because we're going to be answering that at the end of this lecture when we discuss pregnant pauses or if I don't know the answer, remember the phrase, I don't have the answer to that, but I'll find the answer and get it to you.

02:42 How about before you leave, you shoot me an email and I will get it back to you as soon as I discover what the answer is.

02:47 Will that work for you? When you say, I don't have the answer, but I'll get it to you, that actually adds to your credibility if it's in front of a group.

02:55 Then move along to step number three.

02:57 If you don't have the answer or if you do have the answer, in any event, you can use a solution focused question to reinforce the good answer you just gave, or that you are there to help and you should be trusted using the solution focused question to answer, the question that you were asked would sound something like this, and now that I've shown you that, are you more likely to subscribe to our service? Or and if I can answer that question for you in the manner that you wish, would you be more likely to subscribe to our service? For example, if someone asks you, Hey, this sounds pretty expensive, do you think it would be worth it for me? You could say. If I could show you how this would fit into your budget and actually make you money in the end, would you then subscribe to this service or.

03:46 I don't have the answer right now how this could fit into your budget.

03:50 But when I get it and give it to you, will you then be more likely to subscribe to our service? So if you use the solution focused question as you answer questions to the audience, it benefits not just the person who's listening, but everybody who is in the audience will hear it and be a little bit more convinced with whatever it is you're saying. And then step number four, once you have repeated the question, you've answered it or scheduled it for later, you've asked your solution focused question. Taking advantage of the opportunity to answer a question, you confirm it. Great.

04:22 Does that answer your question? Great. Can I move along now? Great. Are we all done? And when you do that, when you have that system for answering questions, people will, if they are asked at the end of your presentation where all of your questions answered, they will respond with a Yes, they were.

04:38 He was really good at answering audience questions.

04:41 And if you forget where you're going, like a lot of people, because they aren't confident that they will be able to find the words all throughout their speech, they have huge anxiety. They're very nervous.

04:52 They're scared. Their fear of public speaking is huge.

04:54 And the number one thing people are fearful of is blacking out, forgetting where they are and looking what they would consider to be foolish in front of a crowd.

05:03 Don't worry about that. Under normal circumstances, if you're speaking, there's going to be a podium or a table.

05:08 And on that table, you will almost always see what? You'll always see a picture of water and a glass.

05:15 Now, I have seen in the past 20 years I've seen that transform into a bottle of water.

05:21 But if you can bring up to the podium a glass, if there isn't one up there and you can have someone bring one up, or if you can personally bring one up, if you have a glass and a bottle of water or a pitcher of water, any time you lose your words, if you totally forget what you're saying, just act as if it's a pregnant pause.

05:39 Stop there and look around.

05:42 Pour yourself a glass of water.

05:44 Take a drink. And then move along.

05:47 It seems natural.

05:48 It's something people do when they're up at the podium because especially when you speak, you have to drink and it helps you buy some time and remember where you were, especially if you have strategically placed someplace around the water flashcards. Let's talk about index cards and how you can use them as flash cards or visual cues when you grab yourself a glass of water.

06:10 If you place a little index card by the water pitcher on the podium, by some materials, by the projector.

06:17 If you strategically place index cards around you before you start speaking, in the event you forget your words, you can find them incredibly useful, and it builds your confidence that you won't forget what you're saying.

06:29 Here's how you use them.

06:30 Take some index cards, the cards that are about the size of a breast pocket.

06:35 And on that card, take some of the main points that you want to discuss during your speech, during your presentation, and put on those cards a visual cue not that explains or that you have to read, but some picture that would remind you.

06:48 For example, when I give speeches, sometimes I have to relate how what I'm teaching them a communication strategy is going to financially benefit them. I have to mention something like that before I end, and if I haven't, I haven't done my job.

07:04 And so I may place a visual cue such as an index card with a big dollar sign on it strategically someplace maybe you're on the water pitcher, maybe around the projector, maybe simply on the podium.

07:15 And that way, if I forget where I'm going and I stop and think, Oh, I forgot my words, what do I say? What do I say? I can look down.

07:22 No one notices that I'm doing it.

07:24 And a visual cue reminds me.

07:26 Make sure before you go tell them how this financially impacts them.

07:30 And then I say, Oh, there you go.

07:31 And then I can mention that point, even if it's out of order.

07:35 But I have the words and I accomplish all of the goals that I had set before I started speaking. For example, if you have, let's say, three or five goals that you must accomplish during a speech or a presentation, if you have those three or five goals illustrated in a visual sense and as you say them, you take an index card, set it aside, take an index card, flip it over.

07:55 Nobody notices that you do that.

07:57 And if they do, people simply think, Oh, those must be his notes.

08:01 Oh, thank goodness he's not just reading.

08:02 If you flip them over or put them aside as you cover the points that you have strategically placed, once they're gone, you can think, Oh, great, I covered everything that I wanted to in my speech without having to read a script.

08:14 And finally, I'd like to give you a simple strategy that you can use to not simply engage your audience members, but also convince them to do whatever it is that you're asking them to do.

08:26 There are different types of questions we've talked about many of them.

08:29 For example, the tag question, remember, the tag question is when you say, badumbadumbadum , don't you think, badumbadumbadum.

08:36 Right. And we've discussed how in any presentation, if it's a dry subject matter, especially if you simply punctuate different messages with tag questions and for example, I could say and doing things like this will help any speech that you give be more effective, don't you think? And this has been a problem for every one of us, hasn't it? That's a very simple way to punctuate your messages and get people involved.

09:00 But if it's possible for you to do so, call on audience members.

09:05 It's something that you don't see very often, but when you see it, you will see that it is used by effective speakers who engage the entire audience, especially because the speaking style of today is very different from how it was 20 years ago.

09:19 We now want to be having a conversation with our audience and one way to do that and make everybody feel as though you're talking with them, whether it's two people, 200 people or 2000 people, if you choose people from the audience and call them by name and ask them questions, it gets the entire audience engaged.

09:37 For example, as I mentioned before, you may simply want to say, excuse me, sir, in the front row in black suit, what's your name? And you'd be amazed.

09:45 I've asked thousands of people that question.

09:46 No one has ever drawn a blank and said, Oh, I don't know.

09:50 But if you say, for example, Hey, man in the black suit, what's your name? And then you get a name.

09:55 Charlie, you can always use a simple closed ended question, by the way. I say closed ended question because if you make the mistake of saying something such as Charlie, can you tell me about a time where blah, blah, blah and you ask an open ended question, then you're setting yourself up for an audience member to say.

10:14 Um, and you've taken the momentum out of your presentation, or sometimes even worse.

10:22 They could tell you about something, and it takes a long time.

10:26 Either way, you distract from your presentation.

10:28 But if you want to keep in the flow, you could ask a simple closed ended question.

10:32 Remember, closed ended questions start out with do you are you do you think? You can always tell by the beginning of a question if it's a closed ended or an open ended one.

10:43 And if I were to say, for example, sir, what's your name in the black suit? Charlie. Charlie. Do you know what I mean? Charlie. Charlie, have you experienced things like this? Charlie? Is this something you're concerned with? And when you ask simple closed ended questions, it again puts the audience on alert. They think, when might it be my turn? And it appears as if you're having one conversation with the entire audience.

11:05 Let's talk about the repeat after me.

11:07 Generally speaking, in any presentation that we give, there are going to be key words or phrases that we want people to walk away remembering.

11:16 For example, if I were giving a presentation on customer service skills, one of the key things that I would like people to remember is the PEC It's a catch phrase. It means the personal emotional connection.

11:28 It's used a lot in business, and if I want to use questions which are a great way to get audience members involved and engaged, I could say, for example, Charlie.

11:37 Repeat this after me.

11:38 Personal emotional connection.

11:40 Say that Charlie. And then after Charlie individually says the personal emotional connection, then we can say, Great, everybody, repeat after me, everybody.

11:49 The personal emotional connection one more time.

11:52 The personal, emotional connection.

11:54 And that's a great way to get people involved.

11:56 And they'll remember the personal emotional connection.

11:59 You can also say as you go along in your presentation, especially if it's a dry subject matter, you could say at the beginning after a couple of minutes.

12:08 All right, everybody. So you there in the blue shirt.

12:12 Fred, Fred, what was the point number one in today's lecture? And Fred will say and then you can say, all right, you can go ahead and help him.

12:20 And someone will remember what point number one was that you taught.

12:23 And they'll say, Fred, it's ABC.

12:27 And then Fred will say, Oh, ABC.

12:29 Then as you move along, do it again.

12:31 All right, everybody. So let's review.

12:33 Mary, Mary, what were steps one and two? And as you go through your presentation, if it's a very dry subject matter that's really informational, it's not so much a motivational speech.

12:45 You're not trying to engage the audience members, but you'd like them to pay attention, stop every few minutes.

12:51 And you could say, Charlie, where are we now? Mary what have we learned so far? Don what are the first three steps now? All right, everybody, let's all review.

12:59 What are steps number one, two and three, and you keep reviewing as you move along.

13:03 It lets people know, oh, gosh, it might be tested as we're going through.

13:07 So I'm going to pay more attention and they'll retain more information and be engaged as you speak if they think I keep getting asked questions about what we're listening to, so I better pay attention.

13:17 And if you use those types of questions during your presentation, if keeping audience members engaged is something that you struggle with that will help.

13:25 Overnight in this lecture, you'll learn how to handle audience questions when you're giving a live presentation, as well as how to remember where you were and what you were saying. When you black out during a presentation and you learned how to use questions to keep audience members engaged during your presentation.

13:43 So you should have a lot of new tools that you can use, both at work and at home.

13:47 We've discussed everything from body language to vocal skills, verbal skills, verbal patterns, danger phrases, power phrases.

13:54 You have a lot to do.

13:56 So please take your tools with you.

13:58 Use your tools, practice every day, and you will be astonished at the results you can get by investing just minutes a day in your communication skills.

14:07 Changing the way you speak doesn't just change the way you think.

14:10 It changes the way you see the entire world.

14:13 And it will change the way the entire world sees you.

14:16 This is Daniel Connor.

14:18 Thank you.