Presentation skills: how to handle tough questions?

The best advice I've received and what always works for me is to simply be honest. No single person knows everything. There's no shame in not knowing, there is however shame in lying.

That said, there are some general "maneuvers" I will sometimes employ to soften the situation and preserve the momentum and flow of the presentation:

1: Acknowledge the validity of the question and perhaps elaborate briefly on why it’s a good question. “That’s a particularly good question because it gets at the key issue of…”

2: Very briefly speak “around” the question if you have peripheral knowledge to share and if appropriate give possible (speculative) answers with supported reasoning. If you will employ this, you must be careful to over-emphasize the fact that you are speculating as to possible answers. Speculation can be a dangerous practice however and should be generally avoided if the presentation is a formal one or being recorded or transcribed. Excerpts can be taken out of context and come back to bite you.

3: Briefly apologize for not having a better answer handy, re-emphasize the strength of the question, and move on. “Again, I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer, but that is an excellent question…”

Finally, a little humor goes a long way. I like to finish with something like “ok, I’m going to the other side of the room for my next question since the people on THAT SIDE are so tough!” If you can pull it off naturally, it will further diffuse the situation and restore the flow.

In closing, I generally have good success by being brief. Over-speaking and over-explaining tends to bore your audience or worse gives the appearance that you’re overcompensating. You also have to have a good understanding of who you are and your own personality. If humor is not your thing, don’t do it. Naturalness is most important.

I'm a frequent public speaker. No one knows everything, so be confident in yourself whether or not you know the answer.

To get at a difficult question, I will do one of two things:

1. Ask questions to try to clarify and make sure you understand what is being asked. Try to break it down into simple components.

2. If the question is too complex, has too many components, or is off the topic, then take the question in and let the person know that you're not going to address that particular area in this presentation. Offer to talk to them later about it or offer that you'll do another presentation at a later time that will address their area of interest.

Most of all, acknowledge the question and the person asking the question. It often takes just as much courage to ask a question as it does to answer one.

Excellent suggestions above. Here's one more. Assuming that the questioner is more interested in getting a good answer than in where it comes from, call on other audience members to pitch in with their thoughts and ideas. "Does anyone else want to help Charlie out with this issue?" It's the rare audience that doesn't respond to this.

I agree with Kelly and John. Don't bluff, be honest, get back to them.

I concur with Kelly. Aside from the admission of ignorance, I'd redirect the question back to the asker. Essentually asking why they asked such a difficult question and why is this important to you? Aside from the ego flexing of knowledge, there may be some underlying issues that you were unable to uncover until this moment.

I also agree with Kelly and John, but I would like to add a few ideas,

Before any presentation create a list of possible questions, after writing the top twenty questions you might receive, dig deeper and think of twenty more. After you have written them down, answer each one as succinctly and clearly as possible.
Having your answers to possible questions gives you confidence.

But, let's say the question is not on your list, take a breath. Often when we are faced with a tough situation we inadvertently hold our breath Breathing from your diaphragm, lowers your heart rate and your blood pressure, It also delivers a good dose of oxygen to your brain.

If you do not have the answer and you promise to get back to the person or the group with an answer, make sure you give a time certain for your response.

I agree with the posts here, but want to reinforce Laurie's point: prepare!

If asked a question you don't know the answer to, you should, of course, admit your ignorance and take steps to follow-up.

You must also consider why you didn't have the answer, so you're not 'caught short' in future.

Have you leveraged others to identify potential questions?
Is there new info or a recent event you need to reflect or research?

I generally do a google search before I leave to speak, and a daily review of international and local news items while on the road.

Even if you don't KNOW THE ANSWER it is reinforcing if you understand the context, and it will also make you a better speaker.

All good suggestions, but the most important part of maintaining your credibility is in the follow up. Make sure you follow up as promised.

Very early in my speaking career, I wrote a list of all the things I was afraid "could" happen in any area of my speaking gig. Not knowing the answer to a question was one of my fears. So I created a few answers to the question. The one I use the most often is:

"that's a great question, I'd like to know the answer, too". May I have your business card and I'll get back to you after doing some research. "

Often, the questions are so good, that after I do the research, I write an article on the subject and send it to the person who asked the question with a thank you card.

Good responses. I want to expand on the advice to ask the questioner for clarification otherwise:
- you may be trying to answer the question you were 'afraid' you'd get instead of the one that was actually asked
- the question may be satisfied by a simple answer instead of a complex one which may be perceived as an 'excuse'
- you will be sure of understanding and answering appropriately instead of appearing to avoid the actual question
-you appear calm, poised and open to the question
-you learn and also gain a few moments to think before talking
Two additional suggestions:
-if the answer is very simple and straight forward, don't ask for clarification because it's an obvious stalling tactic
- if true, preface your follow up for clarification by acknowledging that you think you understand what's being asked and why so you don't appear to be playing dumb just because its a tough question.
Brian

Great question Courtney. In addition to the great answers provided by other experts I might add:

1. Tell the questioner you don't know the answer if you don't. It's OK not to know the answer.
2. Tell the questioner that you would be willing to find the information or talk to them further at another time.
3. Try not to engage the questioner more than you have to or elaborate on why you don't know for a long period of time, move on to the next question.
4. Keep a friendly and open tone of voice instead of stumbling around because you feel you look uniformed.
5. Have confidence in your ability to answer based on your knowledge based. You may not be able to answer their specific question but perhaps you could provide an insight based on your perspective.