by Gilda Bonanno LLC www.gildabonanno.com
For
example, a few years ago, I attended a presentation on using LinkedIn. The program description promised an overview
plus a few specific steps to improve success using LinkedIn. The speaker got about ten minutes into her
presentation to an audience of more than one hundred, when she was interrupted
by a few people who asked very specific questions.
While it's good to be responsive to questions, you also have to avoid letting them derail you from covering your message within the time limit.
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com
Have
you ever seen a speaker run out of time because he or she spent too much time
answering very basic or very advanced questions that were irrelevant to most of
the audience?
For
example, a few years ago, I attended a presentation on using LinkedIn. The program description promised an overview
plus a few specific steps to improve success using LinkedIn. The speaker got about ten minutes into her
presentation to an audience of more than one hundred, when she was interrupted
by a few people who asked very specific questions.
She
answered each question thoroughly, but the problem was that most of the
questions were either irrelevant to the rest of the audience (for example,
"what do I do when I get this error when I try to log into my account?")
or too advanced ("can you walk us through the specific steps to create and
moderate groups?") or took up too much time.
With
less than ten minutes to go before the end of her time limit, she had only made
it through one third of her presentation and handouts. I spoke with many people
afterwards who were frustrated and disappointed by how she had let the
presentation get out of control without delivering on what she had promised.
While
questions usually signal that the questioner is interested in what you have to
say, you also have an obligation to cover the material that the audience
expected, based on the description of your presentation or how it was
advertised. And especially with a large
audience, not all questions are relevant enough to everyone else to make it
worthwhile for you to spend time away from your planned presentation.
Here
are five strategies to ensure that those very specific or largely irrelevant
questions don't take up all of your presentation time:
1. In the description about your
presentation, set the expectations as to the level that you will focus on
– beginner, intermediate, advanced – and then stick to it. Remember that you are in control of the
presentation and timing and it usually can't get out of control without
your involvement.
2. At the start of the presentation,
let the audience know if, how and when you will handle questions.
3. If the situation allows, ask
people to write their questions on index cards or sticky notes during your
presentation, then collect and review them and choose some that are most relevant
to answer.
4. When someone asks a question,
request that they save it to ask again near the end of your presentation,
if you haven't answered it in the course of your regular material.
5. Don't be afraid to NOT answer the
question – explain that your answer might be too specific or not
applicable to enough other people in the audience and request that the
person take the question "off-line," by asking you one-on-one
during a break or after your presentation.
While it's good to be responsive to questions, you also have to avoid letting them derail you from covering your message within the time limit.
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com