Handling the Q&A

If confidence and clarity got you in a high-stakes meeting, it’s the ability to manage questions well that gets you back to the next one.

In the toolkit of communication skills, the inability to answer questions well can become a real vulnerability for a communicator. As leaders interact with communicators, they always gauge how well someone shows up. Style and presence matter, clarity of messaging matters. But the ability to transfer knowledge through how questions are answered may matter the most.

Answering questions isn’t always easy. Questions are dynamic. They come from listeners, so you prepare for them the same way you prepare your storyline. You can anticipate about 60% of what will be asked if you consider the listeners’ perspective. But questions require real-time, in the moment content that means thinking on your feet and being as clear and focused as you were throughout the presentation.

TRAINING OVERVIEW: This is a one-day program that introduces and coaches the fundamentals of preparing for and pivoting an audience’s questions.

The morning introduces the art and intentional process of thinking on your feet and managing questions effectively. Participants learn SW&A’s three-step process for answering questions as well as the finer nuances of how to expand upon a question and lead a listener to your desired outcome. In the afternoon, participants explore the skillset through roleplays and individual coaching.

Key Components:

• Anticipating an Audience’s Needs
• Adjusting the Question
• How to Answer in a Sentence
• Illustrating a Response
• The 3 C’s of Style