Conducting a Q&A Session
Q&A occurs at the end of an
in-person speech or at any point in time with larger, remote audiences
using Twitter, SMS texting, or email.
Learning Objectives
Give examples of effective ways to conduct live and online Q&A sessions
Key Takeaways
Key Points
- Often after giving a
presentation, you will be called upon to personally conduct a question
and answer ( Q&A ) session in which the audience will ask questions
for you to answer.
- Make sure you understand
the question. To check for understanding, paraphrase the question and
ask for confirmation. If you don't understand the question, ask for
clarification.
- Repeat the questions for
those in the audience who may not have heard it and answer it directly
and succinctly while looking at the audience or web cam.
- If you have prepared for
Twitter questions using your #hashtag, SMS contact, or email, you can
create a direct interactive experience with all parts of your global
audience prior, during, or at the end of the speech.
- In general, you want to
collect the questions for a Q&A session at the end or have a cohort
monitor the questions as they are posted to select the ones for you to
answer.
- You may project the tweets
or texts using a projection system for a large audience and a shared
screen for the remote audiences while you conduct the Q&A session.
Key Terms
- Q&A: A period of time in which questions are asked of a person.
Q&A can occur in person or via internet
Question and answer sessions
(Q&A) can take different formats. You might answer questions after
your speech or presentation if you have a live co-located audience.
Members of the audience may stand to speak or walk to a microphone. If
you are speaking to a large audience or a remote audience, you may use
various digital methods to solicit questions to answer at the end of
your presentation. Let's look at approaches to conducting a Q&A with
live audiences and with large or remote audiences using Twitter, short
message service (SMS) text messages, or email.
In-Person Q&A: An audience member uses a microphone and leads a Q&A session.
Q&A with Small Audience Co-located with Speaker
Often after giving a
presentation you will be called upon to answer questions from the
audience. Q&A sessions can be quite intimidating, but if you have
thoroughly researched your topic and have anticipated the types of
questions you might receive, you will be better able to handle anything
you are asked. Here are some guidelines for handling Q&A sessions:
Q&A with a Small Audience: A student stands among a small audience and asks a question.
- Stop to think about the question before answering.
- Make sure you
understand the question. To check for understanding, paraphrase the
question and ask for confirmation". For example: Are you asking why we
propose a 2% annual increase or how we estimate that this increase will
match increases in the cost of living? "
- If you did not
understand the question, ask for clarification. For example: "I don't
understand what you mean by total compensation package",
- Repeat the questions
for those in the audience who may not have heard it. For example: "The
question is, 'What raises do we expect to propose over the next 5 years?
'"
- Don't let the questions
move you off topic. For example: "I appreciate your concern over
profit-sharing with beneficiaries, but today's focus is on investor
relations".
- Answer directly and
succinctly. Tell them what you know, why you believe it, or what you
believe. If you don't have answer, tell them so or volunteer to find out
the information and provide the answer at a later time. For example: "I
did not hear the President's comment about eliminating unions. My
understanding is that she is committed to union participation. I will
check the minutes from that meeting and send you an answer, if you
provide your email address".
- Look at the questioner as you answer the question, but still present the answer to the whole audience.
- If the questioner
starts to give a counter speech, politely interrupt and ask for his or
her question. For example: "Thank you for your concern, but we only have
time for one more question. Do you have a specific question I can
answer?"
- After answering, check
with the questioner to determine whether you answered the question to
his or her satisfaction. For example: "Did I address your concerns?"
Using the Internet for a Q&A
If you have prepared for
Twitter questions using your #hashtag, SMS contact, or email, you can
create a direct interactive experience with all parts of your global
audience.
- In general, you want to
collect the questions for a Q&A session at the end rather than
displaying the questions as they occur.
- You may have a cohort monitor the questions and select the ones to answer.
- You may also want to
display the questions with TweetDeck. TweetDeck's interface consists of a
series of customizable columns, which can be set up to display tweets.
- You may project the tweets using a projection system or a shared screen for the remote audience.
- You may also arrange an "open" question period prior to the speech in order to solicit relevant questions.
- If you are concerned
about privacy, you may want to restrict the questions on Twitter to
followers. Tweets are publicly visible by default; however, senders can
restrict message delivery to just their followers. Users can tweet via
the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as for
smartphones), or by SMS text messages.
- Again, make sure to
look at the audience or the webcam when answering the question. You may
also make sure to display contact information for follow-up questions if
you are willing to respond to questions for a period of time.
Finally, as the speaker you will
be responsible for time management. How many questions will you answer
and how much time will you devote to them? You may want to make
arrangements for a follow-up exchange after the formal presentation in a
forum, blog, or via email.
A series of three question marks in a red octagon, which resembles a stop sign.
Think before Answering: It's important for the speaker to stop and think about the question before answering.