Impromptu

19Q&A

Hippias of Elis, a prominent Athenian orator of the fifth century BC, was the master of Q&A. He would appear before large crowds and respond to any question put to him. He told Socrates he had never been confronted with a question he couldn't answer. While few of us have Hippias's supreme confidence, the best impromptu speakers are well informed and adept at answering questions. You'll discover in this chapter how to respond to questions by preparing thoroughly, structuring your answers, and avoiding the traps that can ensnare speakers.¹

Getting Ready

What you do before answering questions is as important as what you do while answering them. Preparation involves mastering your content, listening carefully, and pausing before speaking.

Master your content. A solid grounding in topics that pertain to your company, your field of expertise, your team, your clients, and your competitors is the foundation for handling Q&A well. It helps, too, to have a general knowledge of other fields you can draw from. Mark Zuckerberg in 2015 resolved to read a book every two weeks on “different cultures, beliefs, histories, and technologies.”² And an article in Fortune quotes one of his colleagues as saying Zuckerberg's desk typically has a pile of books on it, and “for a while there was a book on free‐space optical communications,” a technology Facebook was interested in.³ Leaders need that rich storehouse of information to master their subject and respond to questions intelligently. ...