adapted from "Presentation Skills" by Steve Mandel

1. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Presentation Q&A
American Pragmatics and Culture
Spring 2012
Ms. Candice Quiñones

2. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
A Few Tips for Q & A
 Prepare
 Don’t Preface Answers
 Clarify
 Amplify
 Maintain Your Style
 Be Honest
 Involve the Whole Audience
 Follow the 25%-75% Rule
 Keep to the Point

3. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Prepare for Questions
 Do your best to anticipate what types of questions you may
be asked.
 Practice answering them.
 Some speakers prepare backup visual aids to use when
answering anticipated questions.

4. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Don’t Preface Your Answer
 Try to avoid saying “That’s a very good question; I’m glad you
asked it.”
 It can seem like a sign that you aren’t sure of the answer.
 At the end of your session, just say “Thank you for all of your
excellent questions”

5. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Clarify
 IF the question is long or complicated, try restating it to
clarify.
 Use phrases such as: So your question was…?
 This can help you and remind the audience of the question
as well.
 You can also do this to soften any possible hostile language
used.
 It can buy you time when you are considering your response.

6. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Amplify
 Repeat the question so that everyone can hear it.
 Sometimes the person who asks doesn’t speak loud enough.
 This also allows time for you to think.

7. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Maintain Your Style
 Try to maintain the same level of composure that you had
throughout your presentation.
 If you were calm and collected during your presentation, try
to stay that way.
 Try not to sound nervous.
 If you change your composure, the audience might feel you
lack confidence in your position or the information you
presented.

8. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Be Honest
 IF you don’t know the answer, say so.
 Just say, “I don’t know the answer, but I will find out and
get back to you.”
 Or, if you know someone else in the room who might know
the answer, you might ask them for help.

9. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Involve the Whole Audience in
Your Answer
 Don’t be the speaker who gets involved with only the person
who asked the question and ignores everyone else.
 Make sure that you answer the question for the whole
audience and not just one person.

10. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Follow the 25%-75% Rule
 Direct 25% of your eye contact to the person who asked the
question.
 Direct 75% of your eye contact to the rest of the audience.
 Don’t ignore anyone.
 This keeps you in command of the situation.

11. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Keep Answers to the Point
 Don’t stay on an issue too long.
 Speaking too long can bore the audience.
 Say just enough to answer the question and address the
issue but not enough to bore people.

12. "Presentation Skills" by Steve
Mandel
Any Questions?