Many
would-be public speakers are hesitant to give a speech because they are
afraid that they will not be able to answer a difficult question posed
afterwards by a member of the audience. They do not want to "lose face"
before an audience.
If
this is your concern, here are some strategies you can use. First, when
preparing your speech, consider the special interests of a given
audience, and anticipate what questions they might have. For example, if
you are speaking to an audience of lawyers on land use practices in
your community, search online for "legal aspects of land use + (name of
the community)". Possibly interview an expert on the subject in the
state or county government ahead of time. Credit him or her in your remarks, by saying "as X, an expert in Y, says, ..."Write down the answers and
practice giving them in a simulated talk.
Always
repeat the question into the microphone before answering it. Depending
on the acoustics of the auditorium, the noise level inside and outside
of it, and the hearing acuity of the audience, there is a very good
chance that the question was not clearly heard by everyone. Repeating
the question also gives you time to think about the answer.
Let's
say the worst happens, and an audience member asks you a question that
you did not anticipate. Here you have three great options, and one back
one.
First, explain you would be happy to look into this question and get back to the person quickly with the answer. Invite the questioner to come up to you afterwards and give you his business card with the question written on the back of it. Another option is to say to the audience, "Is there anyone in the room who has expertise in this particular aspect of the topic?" A third option is to focus on the part of the question you can answer, and acknowledge that you need to do more research on the rest of the question. (Some politicians ignore most of the question, segueing into one of their talking points instead. "The important aspect of this is that..." Alert members of the media and the rest of the audience usually notice this ploy and comment negatively on it later.)
First, explain you would be happy to look into this question and get back to the person quickly with the answer. Invite the questioner to come up to you afterwards and give you his business card with the question written on the back of it. Another option is to say to the audience, "Is there anyone in the room who has expertise in this particular aspect of the topic?" A third option is to focus on the part of the question you can answer, and acknowledge that you need to do more research on the rest of the question. (Some politicians ignore most of the question, segueing into one of their talking points instead. "The important aspect of this is that..." Alert members of the media and the rest of the audience usually notice this ploy and comment negatively on it later.)
A
speaker cannot be expected to be expert on every aspect of a topic,
especially if it is only vaguely related to the main aspect of the talk.
Use the strategies above and confidently step up to the microphone!
Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching in public speaking, accent modification, pronunciation, executive communication strategies and more. Coaching is available online in selected cases.
For those who prefer e-books, our concise e-book Public Speaking:You Can Do It!. is available 24/7. It has practical tips that can be used immediately.
For those who prefer e-books, our concise e-book Public Speaking:You Can Do It!. is available 24/7. It has practical tips that can be used immediately.
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