Standing Up to a Challenge

An engineer from Penang told me his story about an IT marketing presentation he was doing for his company in Europe. He had done the presentation several times before and knew his stuff in and out, so his audience of about 25 people listened politely and received him well. When he finished he opened the floor for questions, but before anyone had a chance to ask, someone from the back of the room, without standing or raising his hand, shouted out, “That’ll never work.”

Not knowing how to deal with this sudden challenge, the engineer lost his nerve. He mumbled a few words, and realizing that he needed to clear his head, he called for a quick break, leaving the audience somewhat puzzled.

He received a challenge that knocked him off of his feet, dissolved his confidence and left his professional credibility damaged. What could he have done better? How would you handle a challenge like this? Let’s examine a few options together.

You could ask the challenger to elaborate. Doing so will help you determine whether he has a legitimate point or not and will allow you some time to get your thoughts together. On the other hand, he may raise a point that takes your audience away from you. You’ve got 24 others on your side. Do you really want to jeopardize your hard work by allowing someone else to take over?

Alternatively, you could throw the question back to the audience. This will take the pressure off of you and turn the challenge into an open discussion. Be careful, however, to throw the question back to someone whom you know is on your side. Otherwise you might single out someone who has no opinion, or worse, someone who agrees with your challenger.

If you would like to discuss your challenger’s position but not in front of the audience, another option is to take the challenge offline. Acknowledge his position and invite him to chat during the break. After all, you tell him, several people in the audience have questions, and you’d like to allow your challenger as much time as he needs.

A final option, and probably your best, is to stand your ground, keep the floor and meet the challenge. He has told you that your idea won’t work. Smile back at him, acknowledge his point of view, and then go ahead and explain why it will work. Give examples of where it has worked before. When you’re through, go back to your challenger and ask him, “Does that clarify things for you?” In nine out of ten cases, he’ll say yes. If he comes back with another challenge, take it offline.

Remember, a challenge can be as easy to handle as any other question -- just as long as you’re prepared to meet it.