Staying On Track

A few days ago, I gave the kind of presentation I both enjoy and worry about the most. This was a technical presentation to an audience that was as technically competent as me or more so. In addition, my position was at least a little bit controversial. This presentation went well, but a similar presentation 10 years ago resulted in a little bit of a train wreck. I will credit Toastmasters for the different outcome of these two meetings, since I have worked through numerous speeches designed to elicit tough feedback.

Preparation – The key to surviving a tough audience is to know what they might challenge you on. Prepare your answers to every question you can anticipate. The other side of preparation is to present the opposition yourself. The first hard question I got was the easiest to answer; I simply said “I am going to talk about that in a few slides.” You still have to be careful though; sometimes, you hear a few words and respond with a prepared answer that misses the mark. When that happens, you look like a politician.

Response – In addition to making sure that you are answering the question that was asked, you need to consider if you should answer it. Sometimes, the best response is “I would prefer to discuss that with you after this session”. I am not recommending that as a way to dodge a hard question; rather, take the question off-line if the discussion is too far off topic. Remember that your audience came to hear what you have to say. If you choose to answer the question, do so in a way that puts the issue to rest. I actually got into a little trouble on this point last week. I brushed off a question with a quick answer. That spawned another question and we ended up going back and forth for a minute or two.  In the future, I need to remember to pause, think about the question and carefully craft a good answer.

Follow-up – One way to make your presentation better, is to work the questions into it. If you answered a question early in the presentation that becomes relevant again later, highlight that fact. Look back to the person who asked the question and say something like “this goes back to what you were asking about earlier…” Not only does this show that you are paying attention, it brings the audience into your presentation.  There are three ways to cast this remark. One is a simple nod of recognition. The second is a comment that leaves room for a comment by the person who asked the question. The third alternative is one you should always avoid; that’s when you put the person on the spot to respond.

I would never suggest that you go out looking for confrontation, but a slightly controversial topic can make for a fun presentation. The audience gets engaged and the presentation becomes something larger than what you prepared. Done right, it can be fun. Done wrong, well, the picture at the top says it all.