This document provides guidance on preparing for and handling questions and answers (Q&A) during a presentation. It discusses why Q&A is important for demonstrating a team's expertise and ability to think on their feet. The document recommends anticipating likely questions, preparing formal answers to challenging questions, and agreeing on team roles. It also provides tips for engaging with the audience, staying calm under pressure, and techniques for effectively responding to different types of questions.

1. CONSULTING TOOLKIT
Communicating your recommendation
Handling Q&A
© 2007-2012 IESIES Development Ltd. All Ltd. Reserved
© 2007-2012 Development Rights All Rights Reserved

2. Your audience will judge your team’s strength in Q&A
WHY YOUR AUDIENCE ASKS QUESTIONS
• Do they know their stuff?
• Is there depth behind their
Quality recommendation?
• Can they think on their feet?
Control • How do they respond to challenge?
• Do they have good teamwork?
• Confirm key numbers
• Ask clarification questions about
Improve own how your idea will work
• Ask about alternatives
understanding • Interaction with team
© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved

3. Q&A is as important as the presentation itself, and demands
greater interpersonal skills
Q&A PREPARATION
• Use the hypothesis tree to bullet-proof your presentation
• Anticipate likely questions
• Write formal Q&A for the most challenging questions
• Create a hyperlinked index page for all back-up and presentation
pages, structured by type of question (need to hyperlink each page
back to index too)
• Prepare 2-3 key points you want to reinforce if you get an opportunity
• Agree team roles
© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved

4. Try to anticipate likely questions you will get
ANALYSIS OF LIKELY QUESTIONS
• Audience perspective
• Audience motivations
• Gaps in data
• Omissions due to time – contingency information provision
• Questions against generalisations and distortions
e.g. “they say...” “we need to....” “it’s a better way.....”
• Apply the “so what” principle to every point
© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved

5. Q&A is as important as the presentation itself, and demands
greater interpersonal skills
HANDLING Q&A
• Body language – engage with audience
• Keep control – it is OK to bring in new people, ask questions back,
engage in discussion
• Stay calm – even the toughest questioning is not personal
© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved

6. Project confidence in your Q&A
RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS
•Breathe – pause to think
•Repeat – active listening to rephrase, probe underlying concerns
and confirm or reframe/turn the question
•Quick judgement – is the question supportive/irrelevant/killer?
•Answer – concise and to the point – don’t waste your most
valuable presentation time
•Reinforce – your key points/messages if appropriate
•Confirm – check the questioner is satisfied
•Exit – move to next question
© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved

7. Stay calm and professional even under hostile questioning
RESPONDING TO HOSTILE QUESTIONS
•Breathe – pause to think
•Stay calm – it is not personal!
•Respect the question, but don’t answer it as it stands. Try to find
the real issue it is about, reframing/turning the question to make
it positive if possible or at least neutral
•Only in a debate setting, counter-punch
© 2007-2012 IES Development Ltd. All Rights Reserved