Innovative Presentations For Dummies

Chapter 13

Dealing with Questions, Resistance, and Audience Hostility

In This Chapter

Planning to respond

Soliciting questions

Facing objections

Remembering who’s in charge

How often have you seen a press conference or public announcement with a head of state or CEO of a major corporation facing a mob of aggressive reporters ready to pounce on him with tough questions? It’s difficult enough to give a planned presentation or speech, but answering difficult questions takes more than intestinal fortitude and confidence. You need skill and a cool head. The unpredictability of the ubiquitous Q & A (question and answer) session may make you anxious or make you fear losing control or otherwise damaging your fine presentation.

Most audiences, however, ask mild, inquiring yet nonthreatening, questions. Boardroom presentations tend to generate a lot of questions during the presentation rather than afterwards. Nonetheless, questions are an integral part of any presentation, and you need to devote adequate time and effort to do well in this area. Anticipating, carefully preparing for, and masterfully ...