How do you prepare for the questions you dread in Q&A?
Write down the one or two questions you hope nobody asks. Build some into the talk, and for the rest, say a short answer out loud a few times.
What I say in the video
For a lot of people, the most intimidating part of speaking isn't the presentation itself, it's the Q&A. Before any presentation, spend a few minutes on the questions you're most likely to get, especially the one or two you hope nobody asks.
Some of them you can build into the talk itself so they never come up at all. For the rest, draft a brief answer and say it out loud a few times.
You don't have to memorize anything, but that little bit of prep gives your brain somewhere to go when those topics come up.
What I didn’t say in the video
The question you dread is the one you avoid preparing for, and it isn't laziness. Writing it down makes it real. As long as you don't name it, you get to half-believe it won't come.
But the dread is almost never about the answer. It's about being caught without one. When I ask someone in a session to say the dreaded question out loud, then say their answer out loud, the whole thing shrinks. Usually the answer is fine. Sometimes it's "we don't know yet, and here's how we're finding out," which is a perfectly good answer nobody rehearses because it feels like an admission.
And say it out loud, not in your head. Your head is a very generous editor. Your mouth is not.
Try it today
Try this before your next meeting, not just your next big presentation. Two minutes, one dreaded question, one answer said out loud. It works at every size.
Bill Smartt is a New York executive presence and public speaking coach and the founder of Smartt Talk. He works with leaders in financial services, tech, advertising and startups.
