Don’t Dread the Q&A After Your Presentation

02 Mar 2020
shared by: Nugroho J. Setiadi, PhD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nugroho-j-setiadi-8b9b0116/ 
Google citation index: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7kvetHUAAAAJ#%21

You can manage a fear of public speaking by thoroughly rehearsing your presentation. But what about the part of the talk that is less in your control: the question-and-answer period? Don’t worry, there are several things you can do to prepare. First, change your mindset, and develop an appreciation for the conversation. Follow-up questions mean that people want to engage with what you have to say. Think about the types of things that audience members might ask. Put yourself in their shoes: How will your message impact their job? Practice responding with appreciation, such as “Thank you for raising that.” If you’re asked a contentious question, start your answer by focusing on where you and the audience member agree. This makes the person feel seen and connected to you. If you’re asked a question out of left field, respond with curiosity. Ask follow-up questions that help you understand what they’re getting at and where they’re coming from. If you’re still scratching your head, you can go back to expressing appreciation. A response like “I’m not sure about that, but thank you. I’ll look into it and get back to you,” will always work.
This tip is adapted from “How to Nail the Q&A After Your Presentation,” by Caroline Webb

 

Source:  Webb, C..  (2020). How to Nail the Q&A After Your Presentation. Harvard Business Review.  From: https://hbr.org/2020/01/how-to-nail-the-qa-after-your-presentation?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=mtod_notactsubs . Retrieved on Feb 27, 2020, 4:37 PM

Nugroho J. Setiadi, PhD
  1. Calvin Sioe Fri, 06 March 2020 at 03:35

    Nama : Calvin Sioe NIM : 2001551460/LA26 Selain tips yang ada di artikel tersebut, menurut saya penguasaan terhadap materi presentasi adalah hal yang paling penting. Jelaskan setiap materi di slide secara rinci dan detail sehingga mengurangi celah bagi pendengar untuk menanyakan pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang tidak perlu ditanyakan.

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  2. Afra Soraya - 2001600393 Fri, 06 March 2020 at 16:06

    I agree with the article, these tips we will be more confident during the presentation. The most important point is to stay focused on the material, besides that we can study the material and the possible questions that might be asked by the audience. Preparation of materials and presentation exercises are the most important things to do so the presentation time can be clear, concise and easily understood by the audience and don't forget to receive input from the audience. Thank you - Afra Soraya (2001600393)

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  3. Brian Richard Fri, 06 March 2020 at 16:20

    Brian Richard / 2001580321 / LA26 - The article is very useful if we are overthinking about how our audience will react, how they asks questions, what's going to be their questions, etc. No need to overthink that, one small tips to increase your confidence is understanding your material! it's very important. Also, let the Q&A session be you and your audience "sharing" session, mixing one and another perspective is fun because you'll feel connected with your audience.

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  4. Irfan Arsyad (2001583752) Sat, 07 March 2020 at 02:10

    I think presentation skill is important in anwering Q&A because it help the presenter communicate with confidence, and motivate the audience to listen. The questions at the end of a presentation can be terrifying for many speakers as they can’t be controlled and are hard to prepare for. This article is very usefull, to know how you prepare & how you think to answer the q&a session in the presentation . Thankyou

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  5. ade hafizh arifta Sat, 07 March 2020 at 21:54

    ade Hafizh arifta-2001596244 LA26, dari artikel diatas jangan terlalu memikirkan tentang reaksi dari pendengar presentasi anda. menguasai topik adalah kunci dari keberhasilan presentasi, dan jawab dengan sesuai pemamahan anda. maka dengan itu apa yang anda presentasikan dapat di cerna dengan baik oleh pendengar dan anda juga dapat menjawab pertanyaan dengan baik.

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  6. Monica Vania Stephanie (2001590796) Sun, 08 March 2020 at 02:47

    For me, I agree when we have some presentation beside we prepare what we want to present, we also have to prepare some answer for the unpredictable questions. When we have some questions, we have to change our mindset and develop an appreciation for the conversation. This step is to clear our mind and ready to answer the question that has been asked. Second step is follow-up questions mean that people want to engage with what you have to say. Think about the types of things that audience members might ask. We have to practice after someone ask some questions, we have to say thank you. If the audience is asked a contentious question, start your answer by focusing on where you and the audience member agree. This makes the person feel seen and connected to you. We also have to know our audience.

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  7. Muhammad Ragil Kesuma Putra (2001583973) Sun, 08 March 2020 at 04:05

    Q&A part of the presentation is always so terrified, we don't know what the audiences are gonna ask. But you can handle it by Mastering your presentation material beforehand, with that you can answer whatever the hell it is what your audiences gonna ask. If your audiences ask something out of the topic you can tell them it is out of topic, but that doesn't mean you're not gonna answer it.. just tell them you're gonna answer it the best you can.

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  8. Fatah Panji Firmansyah Sun, 08 March 2020 at 09:54

    Fatah Panji Firmansyah (2001579780) I agree with this article because actually this is also what I do when presentation, in this article I also got important tips that sometimes i dont responding the questions with appreciation even though this is very important so we are well connected with the audience, and actually I think any questions given we will not be nervous if we mastering the material presented  

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  9. Melyana Pangestu Sun, 08 March 2020 at 11:16

    Melyana Pangestu / 2001553112 I agree with this article that often we are afraid of the various questions that will be raised by our audience, whether we can answer them or not, whether the answers we give are correct or not, etc. However, before making a presentation, we should prepare ourselves and answer material that is expected to be asked by the audience, so that when the audience asks that question, we already know what to answer. In addition, we can also give appreciation to the audience who ask.

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  10. Bobby Ryan Hartono Sun, 08 March 2020 at 12:53

    Dead silence is after presentation is the worst thing that could possibly happened, because either the audience confused with the content or not getting the gist of it. Anticipating it with fear can only cost us a horrible answer since we might think of many possibilities that is not getting out.

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  11. Ghia Sakanti Narendrakanyaka - 2001578374 Sun, 08 March 2020 at 13:06

    i think this article is useful because that situation sometimes happen to me. We usually feel calm and successful about the presentation that we presented because we already prepared for the material. But sometimes, we feel nervous or anxious when the audience ask a question. There's a sudden thought that we can't answer that question. So, this article can help how to dealing with that kind of situation.

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  12. Verent Angelia Sun, 08 March 2020 at 13:18

    Verent Angelia - 2001609745 -LA26 Thank you for the article, Sir. I got some point to answer the QNA session after presentation. [1] Always connect to the audience, imagine being the audience. [2] Appreciation to the audience. [3] Stick to the topic and focus with the point what the audience asked.[4] If dont know the answer, you can give the audience appreciation and dont ecer try to answer with false statement. Thankyou

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  13. Ferrel Enoch Ibrahim Sun, 08 March 2020 at 17:13

    Ferrel Enoch Ibrahim - 2001547671 - LA26. Saya setuju dengan artikel diatas, mungkin ada cara lain untuk menghadapi QnA session seperti kita harus melakukan presentasi sebaik mungkin sehingga apa yang kita presentasi itu sangat jelas. Ada lagi sebelum kita presentasi kita coba memikirkan bagaimana kalau kita yang menjadi pendengar dan apa yang mungkin akan kita tanyakan, kita coba cari solusi nya apa sehingga ketika itu ditanyakan kita bisa jawab. Terima kasih.

    Reply
  14. Edo Roy Sun, 08 March 2020 at 18:43

    Name : Edo Roy NIM : 2001547665 its nice to read an article about problems that most of college students have, about QnA after a presentation. i used to have problem to answering various different type of question because of stage fright. but i realize its because i didnt prepare enough for the presentation. so in my opinion, to overcome stage fright is to preparing your material thoroughly and dont miss a single point. if you have done this basically you can answer all of the question thats coming.

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  15. m ramadhan aditia Sun, 08 March 2020 at 18:44

    2001570623 - Building confidence and a strong mindset is the key to building good vibes and ambiance around the audience of your presentation. But never forget to fully understand what the audience wants when asking a question, to always focus to get the answer they wanted, and the most comfortable way for them to understand, I think that's my opinion about the article.

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  16. Mohammad Rakhel Rahadian Harris Sun, 08 March 2020 at 20:30

    I agree with this article because actually this is also what I do when presenting, in this article I also get important tips and we must also understand very well what we are going to present and we present it clearly so that audience understand what we are presenting and don't need to ask question isn't important

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  17. Wulandari Sun, 08 March 2020 at 22:54

    Thank you for the article, Sir. QnA session after the presentation is very important, this is a sign of an interesting talk, since they mean that the audience has paid attention to what we have said and is now actively reflecting on our content.There some tips to prepare, firstly we need to change our mindset and develop an appreciation for the conversation also for ourself like tell it silently “Aha, good — they’re interested. Then start answer by appreciating the question (ex : thank you!) and if we don’t know the answer don’t afraid to give false statement. // Wulandari 2001610583

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  18. Ghia Sakanti Narendrakanyaka - 2001578374 Mon, 09 March 2020 at 12:21

    This article is useful because sometimes this thing happens to me when i am doing a presentation. We often feel calm and successful doing the presentation that we presented because we already prepared for the material. But we started to feel nervous and anxious at the Q&A section because there's a sudden thought that we cant answer the question. I think this article teaches us how to deal with that kind of situation.

    Reply
  19. Andi Wijaya Tue, 10 March 2020 at 15:26

    Andi Wijaya - 2001592372 ( LA26 ) Yes, practice makes perfect that why rehearsing your presentation material, understand the subject and prepare for it can make you more confident like the article said. Practice Practice and Practice

    Reply
  20. Anak Agung Lanang Hartawiguna R. - 2001561972 Wed, 11 March 2020 at 20:12

    Thank you for the great articles, expressing appreciation towards querstioner indeed making we feel connected and starting from the topic that all the audience agreed into is a good tips to make our topic more interesting to discuss.

    Reply
  21. Anak Agung Lanang Hartawiguna R. - 2001561972 Wed, 11 March 2020 at 20:16

    This was a really good articles. The best tip that I get from this articles is that expressing appreciation and starting from the topic that all audience agreed into is the best way to get us connected with the audiences.

    Reply
  22. JY Thu, 12 March 2020 at 12:48

    Nama: Jemmy Young NIM: 2001624651 artikel diatas membuat saya ingat dengan hal yang paling saya khawatirkan ketika presentasi, yaitu pertanyaan audience yang mungkin tidak bisa saya jawab. artikel ini sangat bagus karena mendorong saya untuk lebih mempersiapkan diri lagi saat presentasi lain kali.

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  23. yohanes Thu, 12 March 2020 at 12:50

    Nama: Jemmy Young // NIM: 2001624651 artikel ini sangat membantu saya dalam menghadapi dan merefleksikan masalah yang saya hadapi ketika akan presentasi yaitu khawatir akan pertanyaan audience. artikel ini mendorong saya untuk lebih tenang lain kali saat presentasi.

    Reply
  24. Maximilian Fajar Linus Fri, 13 March 2020 at 11:08

    Maximilian Fajar Linus - 2001574874 - LA26. Saya setuju dengan artikel ini, menurut saya yang biasanya membuat orang takut terhadap sesi tanya jawab adalah karena pemikiran yang berlebihan terhadap pertanyan-pertanyaan apa saja yang akan dilontarkan oleh audience. Salah satu cara yang dapat dilakukan untuk mengurangi perasaan atau pemikiran tersebut adalah dengan cara kuasai materi presentasi secara matang dan lakukan presentasi sebaik dan sejelas mungkin dengan bergitu dapat meningkatkan kepercayaan diri kita dan mengurangi kekhawatiran akan pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang mungkin akan ditanyakan.

    Reply
  25. Bayu Pratama Wed, 18 March 2020 at 15:41

    Bayu Pratama 2001624336. Saya setuju dengan artikel ini, yang penting adalah kita menguasai materi dan rileks. Memang ketakutan tersebut sering terjadi saat presentasi, jangan sampai pikiran tersebut membuat kita yang sudah menguasai materi menjadi kacau saat presentasi.

    Reply
  26. Daniel Nalom Thu, 19 March 2020 at 18:30

    Daniel Nalom -1901497174/LA26 What i can learn from this article was, there is nothing wrong to prepare your presentation by memorize key words and points according to the subject matter. Any upcoming questions from audience is a great opportunity for the speakers to be able to understand thoroughly and master the subject. Any disclosure to any questions asked is a great valued for everyone in the room to get the chance overcome what is difficult and seems impossible to understand individually. Thank you.

    Reply
  27. Raden Mikail Akbar Aulia - 2001615205 Fri, 20 March 2020 at 12:59

    When handled well, Q&A–questions and answers–becomes the most important element of a presentation. A presentation is not an information dump. It’s not the opportunity for presenters to say everything they know about the topic at hand. It’s not a one-way transfer of knowledge. Winging a Q&A session is about as good of an idea as winging our presentation, so we need to prepare ourself before the presentation.

    Reply
  28. Agustin Savira Fri, 20 March 2020 at 13:23

    on this article, i learned that i can manage my public speaking by rehearsing my presentation with good mindset and appreciation for the conversations on presentation, and respond with curiousity. Thank you for the article, Sir. -- Agustin Savira 2001604246

    Reply
  29. Kevin Bangun Renaldy Sat, 21 March 2020 at 15:32

    Kevin Bangun Renaldy - 2001536453 Im agree with this article. or if i can added something, as a speaker, we must doing more read, even that an article, books, news, or everything that gonna make a speaker have a lot of information. after that, experience is something that a speaker must have too, because, if a speaker have lack of experience, compared with a speaker that have a lot of experience, we gonna look the big different between 2 speakers.

    Reply
  30. Erlyta Agustin Wilarto Wed, 01 April 2020 at 21:39

    Erlyta Agustin W - Saya setuju dengan artikel diatas , sebagaimana memahami seluruh isi presentasi menjadi penting untuk kematangan dalam penyampaian dan bagaimana membuat suatu teknik supaya dapat disampaikan dengan jelas dan apa yang kita maksud sampai kepada pendengar . Biasanya ketakutan akan mendengar pertanyaan setelah presentasi , sering ditakuti oleh beberapa orang saat presentasi. Menurut saya ini menjadi pembelajaran bagaimana kita harus menguasai lebih dari apa yang topik kita sampaikan dan menguasi topik yang sekiranya berhubungan , akan membuat kita semakin banyak mendapat wawasan dan tahu bagaimana akan menjawab serta menciptakan pengalaman presentasi yang lebih besar

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  31. Aji Sinta Prameswari Thu, 02 April 2020 at 01:12

    Aji Sinta Prameswari/2001541283 I think this article is the one we should read, because almost all of us feel dreadful when it comes to Q&A time. The tips given are so useful that when I read it, it made me wondering why didnt I think like this before?

    Reply
  32. Aji Sinta Prameswari Thu, 02 April 2020 at 01:18

    Aji Sinta Prameswari/2001541283 I think this article is the one we should read, because almost all of us feel dreadful when it comes to Q&A time. The tips given are so useful that when I read it, it made me wondering why didnt I think like this before? But, have a full grip and knowledges for the materies of your presentation is what we need the most to make sure that no some hell of questions asked because when we can explain and confident to what we'll be presented, most people will understand us better and most likely will not annoy us with hard questions

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  33. Sri Wulan H.T (2001548535) Wed, 08 July 2020 at 05:39

    I agree with the statement above, to change our mindset. Because after all something or everything that we fear, that we believe in and that will build or destroy ourselves is our own mindset. If we have a good and positive mindset, our lives will build for ourselves and others

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