NFGS_ch8.9_lecppt.pptx

1. Chapter 8.9
Question-and-Answer Sessions
Copyright © 2022 W. W. Norton & Company

2. Introduction
• The question-and-answer session, often called a Q&A, is a
series of brief impromptu presentations guided by questions from
the audience
• A Q&A should be approached with the same level of
seriousness as any other type of presentation
• Q&A sessions give audience members the opportunity to interact
directly with a speaker after remaining quiet and attentive during
a presentation, to hear what others in the audience are thinking,
and to evaluate a speaker’s credibility based on how well they
respond to audience questions and concerns
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3. Key Features
• Q&As should answer audience questions
• Q&As require good questions
• Q&As benefit from active listening
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4. A Brief Guide to Question-and-Answer Sessions
• Consider the rhetorical situation
• Encouraging questioners
• Respecting questioners
• Handling hostile questions
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5. Consider the Rhetorical Situation
• Occasion: Q&A sessions occur in response to anticipated or actual
questions posed by an audience
• Speaker: Your answers need to project competence,
trustworthiness, and likeability
• Audience: Your responses to questions should reflect what you’ve
learned about your listeners
• Purpose: The purpose should be the same as your presentation’s
• Content: Predict possible questions in advance, practice the key
points, and have a conclusion prepared to end the session
• Delivery: Audiences expect to see a more relaxed, authentic, and
immediate you
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6. Encouraging Questioners
• Effective speakers use a variety of techniques to encourage
audience members to ask questions:
• Assume there are questions, and ask, “What are your
questions?” or “Who has the first question?”
• If no one poses a question right away, pause and wait
• If after a significant amount of time has passed and you still
don’t get any questions, offer some of your own
• If you face an overwhelming number of questions and not
enough time to answer them, bring the session to an end by
saying, “I have time for two more questions.”
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7. Respecting Questioners
• Treat all your questioners respectfully
• The following suggestions can help you give questioners the
respect they deserve:
• Don’t embarrass a questioner
• Assist a nervous questioner
• Help a questioner stay focused
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8. Handling Hostile Questions
• If you face one or more hostile questions, don’t panic
• The following strategies can help you deal with a hostile question
from an antagonistic audience member:
• Listen carefully, and don’t strike back
• Look for common ground, an area on which you and the
questioner agree, and build your answer from there
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9. Keep in Mind . . .
• Pounce or Pause before Answering: Decide whether you need to
respond immediately to a question or if you should reflect on it
• Thank Commendable Questioners
• Repeat or Rephrase the Question
• Expect Follow-up Questions or Objections
• Prepare Concluding Remarks in Advance: Return to your central
idea, make references to the conclusion of your presentation, or
talk about the future
• If You Can’t Answer a Question: Admit you don’t know and promise
to find the answer and get back to the questioner
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10. How to Ask a Speaker a Good Question (1 of 2)
• Good audience members are responsible for the quality and
relevance of the questions they ask
• When asking a question or raising an objection, consider the
fundament elements of the rhetorical speechmaking process:
• How credible am I?
• Will the audience appreciate my question?
• What’s my purpose for asking a question?
• How will my question relate to the speaker’s message?
• How will I deliver my question?
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11. How to Ask a Speaker a Good Question (2 of 2)
The following prompts can help you ask a good question:
• Could you expand or further explain what you mean by . . . ?
• Here’s how I’d summarize what you said . . . Is that correct? Have I
misunderstood the point you’re trying to make?
• I understand your views, but I also know most scientific studies
disagree with your perspective. How do you answer . . . ?
• The study you quoted used only university students [or only men, or
wealthy people, or a small number of people] as subjects. Do your
findings apply beyond that group?
• What evidence did you rely on to make your claims about . . . ? What’s
the source of your evidence? How does your evidence warrant your
conclusion?
• What’s the big picture here? How do your conclusions apply to other
situations, such as . . . ?
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12. Credits
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 8.9.
For more resources, please visit The Norton Field Guide to Speaking:
http://digital.wwnorton.com/nfgspeaking.
Copyright © 2022 W. W. Norton & Company