What is the one thing you dread when leading a workshop, presenting a #pitch or wrapping up a negotiation? It’s not knowing what to say when you are asked a tough question, isn’t it?
When Roshini Ganesan started in training over 20 years ago, she remember the one thing kept her awake at nights. It was her fear of not being able to handle unexpected questions from her clients or audience.
Being challenged by our audience is only natural when we present them with new information or ask them to do things they don’t yet understand. And yet, why are so many of us unprepared?
Perhaps you freeze up and can’t think of an answer. Or perhaps you just speak without thinking and give the wrong answer. The result’s the same. You walk out slapping your forehead, wondering why you said what you did, or lamenting what you didn’t say.
Roshini have seen this many times running #presentationskills and #communication skills workshops with corporate clients across Asia and the Middle East (15 countries and still living in hope to count many more).
The one thing many of us fail to do is really truly understand the audience we are walking in to, when we are about to pitch, present to or #train. If we did that we would be better prepared. However there will still be those curve-ball questions. What then.
She was absolutely delighted therefore when Mark Garrett Hayes, founder and editor of TrainingBusiness.com invited her to contribute an article on the topic. If you are a #trainer or in HR or in #learninganddevelopment, and have not connected with Mark – do so. His podcasts kept many of us trainers sane and resourceful in a time that was dire for so many of us. Thanks Mark.
In the article titled “3 steps to handle tough questions from your audience” (link in comments), Roshini shared her 3-Step approach to managing situations when you have to answer questions on-the-spot with little to no preparation. They are to:
💡 Pause
💡 Process
💡 Present
The Link to the Full Article is here: https://www.trainingbusiness.com/3-steps-to-handle-tough-questions-from-your-audience/
At the end of the day, your ability to handle questions well, builds credibility, confidence and connection. So questions – 𝘈𝘓𝘓 questions – should be embraced. And once you try out some of what we share with you, we promise those tough questions will not seem so tough anymore.
Tell us – what else do you do to handle those 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨?
