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A perfect guide for handling questions after presentation | Ishita’s story from SIBM Pune
A perfect guide for handling questions after presentation | Ishita’s story from SIBM Pune
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‘Presentation?’
‘Done.’
‘Script?’
‘Ready!’
‘Thought process coming across in your delivery?’
‘Like a shark out of sea!’
‘Well then you are ready to fire through! Remember to focus on the important slides that show your idea!’
But wait! Didn’t your beautifully designed ‘Thank you’ slide have a broadly displayed google image of ‘Any Questions?’ Did you prepare for it?
The chances are no! And like Warren Buffet’s famous quote about reputation, while you gave your best for 20 days to get your presentation right, you might have just destroyed it in the 2 minutes of the infamous ‘Q&A round’.
The dread of handling questions after presentation is often deep-seated in one of our fundamental fears, the 'fear of the unknown’, ‘How would I know what they might ask?’, ‘Questions change from person to person. Anyone can ask anything’, ‘The best I can do is what’s in my control – know my presentation and idea thoroughly’. And while that is always a good idea, that’s not the only controllable in your hands. There is one hidden in plain sight - Q&A. It is very much possible to have a certain extent of control over one’s Q&A round and much more probable to create a lasting impact on your audience using the same. But the preparation has to start way back. It is not an easy beast to conquer, but definitely not unbeatable!
Andrew Grove, known for his tenure as the CEO of Intel Corporation, in his book ‘Only the Paranoid Survive’ talks about an unconventional yet brilliant way of looking at his own ideas. The reason behind his curious book title is that Grove often doubts and suspects his own ideas. Setting aside pride and ego, he steps outside his shoes to analyse a situation from an outsider’s perspective to find any flaw in his current mental model.
Max H. Bazerman of Harvard Business School, in his book ‘Judgment in Managerial Decision Making’, while talking about decision traps, mentions how easy it is to fall into a trap when looking for ‘confirming evidence’ of one’s idea or views. The hard part for human beings is to be proved wrong. Grove does exactly this, by trying to find counterexamples challenging his idea. Why wait for someone else to find the flaws when you can do the same?
While believing in yourself is important, constantly questioning your ideas and thoughts is crucial. Biases and attachment towards your own work has to be taken out of the equation to flip to the other side and see your idea through the lens of the audience/judge. The outside-in approach makes you go through the process of how a spectator would feel and think, giving you a cue about probable questions and in the process, assist in refining your idea.
If it is a group presentation, some of the prerequisites are open dialogue among team members and brainstorming, not just on ideas, but on questions. Yes, you heard it right! Dedicate time just to question each other’s ideas and not stop until everyone in the team is convinced. It is easier said than done. But playing ‘good cop bad cop’ never hurt anyone. And in the effort you put to convince a team member, lies your success of convincing the judge when the moment arrives on stage.
A group presenting together brings about its own complications. Handling questions after presentation in that case, becomes a display of the team’s unity. For instance, every answer should have contribution and a green light from all team members before it is uttered on stage. The best approach here, would be requesting your addressee for 30 seconds - 1 minute time to discuss as a team. Team presentations should not be interpreted as intra-team competitions, hence there should not be any squabble regarding who answers on stage. The collective interest is the goal here.
The approach to a question can be subjective, in case the question in question is that of opinions and personal experience or objective based on information provided. One of the best ways to answer objective questions is by providing data regarding the same. Hence, preparation should include active search for data for or against your current stream of thoughts. While the former acts as supporting evidence, the latter shows one’s capability to be unbiased and consider various alternatives before narrowing down to one.
Bonus Tip: If self- assured about your own proposition, like little Hansel and Gretel left a trail of breadcrumbs in the forest, you too can leave a trail of curiosity for the judges to jump on. And so do you, with your well-crafted answer! This is a double-edged sword only to be used in areas which have your highest confidence.
And after all this, if you are having a tough day and fail to pull off a Neo from Matrix, the best policy is, in the end, honesty. After all, you are not omniscient. It is perfectly fine to politely accept missing out on the research for some part or reaffirming that you will get back with a solution for after some time.
You can have all the questions, answers, knowledge, data and numbers ready in your brain, yet handling questions after presentation can seem difficult if you are not calm and composed. The stage is set! Live in the moment without aggrandizing it in your mind. Take two deep breaths to break any moment of tension and go back to concentrating on the question. Join the dots. The answer lies in there, somewhere, waiting to be found!
This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author 2.0 with Dare2Compete.
‘Done.’
‘Script?’
‘Ready!’
‘Thought process coming across in your delivery?’
‘Like a shark out of sea!’
‘Well then you are ready to fire through! Remember to focus on the important slides that show your idea!’
But wait! Didn’t your beautifully designed ‘Thank you’ slide have a broadly displayed google image of ‘Any Questions?’ Did you prepare for it?
The chances are no! And like Warren Buffet’s famous quote about reputation, while you gave your best for 20 days to get your presentation right, you might have just destroyed it in the 2 minutes of the infamous ‘Q&A round’.
The dread of handling questions after presentation is often deep-seated in one of our fundamental fears, the 'fear of the unknown’, ‘How would I know what they might ask?’, ‘Questions change from person to person. Anyone can ask anything’, ‘The best I can do is what’s in my control – know my presentation and idea thoroughly’. And while that is always a good idea, that’s not the only controllable in your hands. There is one hidden in plain sight - Q&A. It is very much possible to have a certain extent of control over one’s Q&A round and much more probable to create a lasting impact on your audience using the same. But the preparation has to start way back. It is not an easy beast to conquer, but definitely not unbeatable!
Challenge your own ideas
“The only reason you don’t have answers is because you’ve been too scared to ask yourself the right questions” – Pacey Witter, Dawson’s Creek
Andrew Grove, known for his tenure as the CEO of Intel Corporation, in his book ‘Only the Paranoid Survive’ talks about an unconventional yet brilliant way of looking at his own ideas. The reason behind his curious book title is that Grove often doubts and suspects his own ideas. Setting aside pride and ego, he steps outside his shoes to analyse a situation from an outsider’s perspective to find any flaw in his current mental model.
Max H. Bazerman of Harvard Business School, in his book ‘Judgment in Managerial Decision Making’, while talking about decision traps, mentions how easy it is to fall into a trap when looking for ‘confirming evidence’ of one’s idea or views. The hard part for human beings is to be proved wrong. Grove does exactly this, by trying to find counterexamples challenging his idea. Why wait for someone else to find the flaws when you can do the same?
While believing in yourself is important, constantly questioning your ideas and thoughts is crucial. Biases and attachment towards your own work has to be taken out of the equation to flip to the other side and see your idea through the lens of the audience/judge. The outside-in approach makes you go through the process of how a spectator would feel and think, giving you a cue about probable questions and in the process, assist in refining your idea.
Flaunt your convincing power
If it is a group presentation, some of the prerequisites are open dialogue among team members and brainstorming, not just on ideas, but on questions. Yes, you heard it right! Dedicate time just to question each other’s ideas and not stop until everyone in the team is convinced. It is easier said than done. But playing ‘good cop bad cop’ never hurt anyone. And in the effort you put to convince a team member, lies your success of convincing the judge when the moment arrives on stage.
Together you can do much better
A group presenting together brings about its own complications. Handling questions after presentation in that case, becomes a display of the team’s unity. For instance, every answer should have contribution and a green light from all team members before it is uttered on stage. The best approach here, would be requesting your addressee for 30 seconds - 1 minute time to discuss as a team. Team presentations should not be interpreted as intra-team competitions, hence there should not be any squabble regarding who answers on stage. The collective interest is the goal here.
Data is the new oil
The approach to a question can be subjective, in case the question in question is that of opinions and personal experience or objective based on information provided. One of the best ways to answer objective questions is by providing data regarding the same. Hence, preparation should include active search for data for or against your current stream of thoughts. While the former acts as supporting evidence, the latter shows one’s capability to be unbiased and consider various alternatives before narrowing down to one.
Bonus Tip: If self- assured about your own proposition, like little Hansel and Gretel left a trail of breadcrumbs in the forest, you too can leave a trail of curiosity for the judges to jump on. And so do you, with your well-crafted answer! This is a double-edged sword only to be used in areas which have your highest confidence.
Its okay to say NO
And after all this, if you are having a tough day and fail to pull off a Neo from Matrix, the best policy is, in the end, honesty. After all, you are not omniscient. It is perfectly fine to politely accept missing out on the research for some part or reaffirming that you will get back with a solution for after some time.
The most important factor
"Every great player has learned the two Cs: how to concentrate and how to maintain composure." - Byron Nelson
You can have all the questions, answers, knowledge, data and numbers ready in your brain, yet handling questions after presentation can seem difficult if you are not calm and composed. The stage is set! Live in the moment without aggrandizing it in your mind. Take two deep breaths to break any moment of tension and go back to concentrating on the question. Join the dots. The answer lies in there, somewhere, waiting to be found!
This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author 2.0 with Dare2Compete.
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