Three Types of Questions to Expect During Q&A

You’ve come to the end of your business presentation and your audience gives you a round of warm applause. You smile, nod, open your body language and oozing with obvious confidence you ask them, “Do you have any questions?” But, in your mind you’re thinking, “I hope not, I hope not.”

Because you never really know what’s coming, the Q&A session at the end of your presentation can be the most difficult part to handle. However, it can be easier for you if you know and anticipate the three different types of questions that your audience is most likely to ask you.

The first type of question is for clarification. These are by far the most common questions that you’ll receive, and fortunately, they’re the easiest to answer. Your audience will ask for clarification when they need further explanation of an item you’ve delivered. All you’ve got to do, therefore, is go back, display the slide they have in question, and re-explain yourself a different way. Answering clarification questions is pretty straightforward and usually requires no additional knowledge on your part.

The second type of question is for additional information. Receiving questions like this is a good indication that your audience liked what you had to say, and now they want to hear more. They may ask for more detail, for specifications, for alternatives, and so on. Like clarification, these questions are common and easy to answer – IF you know your stuff. Prepare for these questions in advance. If your audience asks you for additional information, make sure you can provide it. "I'll get back to you" is an answer you'll be luck to get away with just once.

The last type of question your audience may ask is the most difficult to answer. This happens when they ask a question meant to challenge you. Your audience may challenge you for three different reasons. First, they might need absolute confirmation that the information you’re delivering is accurate. Important business decisions may depend on your presentation, so decision makers need to be certain. Expect to be challenged by senior management attending your presentation and be confident. This is what they want to see.

Second, they might disbelieve or find fault with an item you’ve presented. Be careful here, because they may be right and you may be wrong. If you realize your mistake, apologize and acknowledge the correction. If you are uncertain, commit to rechecking and getting back to the questioner. But, if you know you are right, stand and hold your ground. Accuracy must be defended.

The third reason your audience may challenge you is just to give you a hard time. Fortunately, these are few and far between so you may never have to deal with this type of challenge. However, if you do, these are the challenges that are most likely to put your professional credibility on line.

How do you deal with a tough challenge? Check in next week and read on...

Are You Prepared for Q&A?

Has this ever happened to you? You spent the last week preparing for an important business presentation. You did your research and you designed beautiful, high-impact slides. You practiced the night before and now you think you know your stuff. Your delivery is excellent and the audience pays attention. They give you an appreciative round of applause. Then, during the question and answer session, your audience asks you challenging questions. Your confidence cracks, you stammer through your answers, and you leave your audience with the impression that you don’t know very much after all.

If this has never happened to you, congratulations. You’re doing something right. But you’ve probably seen it happen to someone else. It’s not uncommon to see someone deliver a beautiful presentation only to have everything fall apart in the Q&A session. Why does this happen and how can you prevent it from happening to you?

Preparing for your delivery is easy and straightforward, but you never really know what questions your audience may ask you afterwards. You can prepare yourself better for your Q&A session, however, by following just two simple guidelines.

First, really know your stuff. This is rule number one when it comes to delivering presentations. When you stand up in front of an audience, their immediate perception is that you are the expert. Why? Because they’re sitting down, and you’re standing up. Now it’s your job to fulfill their expectations. Learn your content backward and forward. Know which slide comes next before you project it on the screen. Learn relationships between your key points. Just like acting on stage, it’s more than just learning your lines. You’ve got to become the part.

Second, anticipate questions. Once you’ve mastered your content, make a list of the questions that your think your audience might ask you. If you have a partner who can help you rehearse, ask him or her to watch your presentation and ask you some questions afterwards. Practice answering them. Even if your audience asks you questions different from those you’ve rehearsed, you’ll feel more confident about fielding questions and project more credibility as a result.

Your question and answer session is as important as the content of your presentation. That’s why it’s useful for you to be as prepared for questions as you are with your information.

Know Your Strengths & Weaknesses

When you prepare for negotiations, your greatest strength is knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are.

When you know your strengths in advance, you can maximize them at the negotiating table. You might have a list of options available to you making this particular negotiation only marginally necessary. You might have the power of the law behind you. You might even have a reputation as a risk-taker or a tough negotiator. Knowing where you are strong helps build confidence.

When you know your weaknesses in advance, you know where you are vulnerable. It’s like a line of defenders blocking the goal for a penalty kick. They cover up where their are weaknesses lie. You can cover up as well and maintain confidence if you know your weak spots in advance.

Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, however, is just the first part. Knowing your counterpart’s strengths and weaknesses gives you an extra advantage. Prepare in advance how you will respond if they play their strengths at the negotiating table.

As you assess strengths and weaknesses on your side and theirs, remember to be objective and honest with yourself. Don’t overestimate your strengths because of your counterpart’s weaknesses. Don’t overestimate your own weaknesses because of your counterpart’s strengths.

Assess your counterpart analytically rather than emotionally. Their company may be bigger, but yours is probably more versatile and flexible. Their company might have been around longer, but yours may be more in tune with current trends and demands. Intimidation is only a perception. Let the facts speak for themselves and use them to build your confidence.

Knowing strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the table is being prepared. Spend more time preparing and you'll spend less time negotiating. And you’ll also find it easier to get both of you the best agreement possible.

Set Your Negotiating Deadlines -- and Know Theirs!

Just about the same time that the Japanese economy started to bloom in the early 80s, Herb Cohen, one of the world’s best negotiators, wrote a classic bestseller called You Can Negotiate Anything. In it, he told his story about his first encounter as a young negotiator with the Japanese.

Arriving in Tokyo for the two-week negotiation, he was met by two Japanese gentlemen who escorted him through customs and immigration and loaded him into a plush limousine. During the ride they asked him two questions. Do you speak Japanese? No. Would you like us to arrange your limousine back to the airport? Well, that would be nice, and he handed them his return ticket. Now they knew his deadline and he didn’t know theirs.

For the next ten days, Cohen’s Japanese hosts accompanied him on cultural tours, golf games and elaborate dinners. They even enrolled him in a course to help him understand Japanese culture and traditions. Whenever he brought up the negotiation, he was told there would be plenty of time. Discussions finally began on day 12, but were cut short for a golf game. They resumed on day 13, but were cut short again for the farewell dinner. Just when he seemed to be getting somewhere on day 14, Cohen’s limousine arrived and the final deal was cut in the back seat on the way to the airport.

How well do you think he did on that deal? Because they knew that Cohen wouldn’t allow himself to go home empty handed, the Japanese held off making concessions until the last minute. How did they get away with this? Again, they knew his deadline and he didn’t know theirs.

When you’re preparing for negotiations, setting a realistic deadline for yourself will allow you the time you need to establish your position with your counterpart. More importantly, finding out your counterpart’s deadline may give you an edge. Whoever has the tightest deadline is at a disadvantage if it’s known by the other side.

If you know that your counterpart is flexible about their deadline, you can begin planning some strategies in advance to get them to create one for themselves. Let them know that their delay tactics are not going to force you to soften your terms. Lead them to believe that further delay may even result in some of what you’ve already conceded being taken off the table. Send a subtle message that your last offer is preferable to no agreement at all.

Delay-busting tactics like these are useful, but you can only deploy them if you’re prepared in advance. Every negotiator has deadlines. To ensure that you’re adequately prepared, find out what they are.