Today’s success tip comes from Candy Tymson.

With a solid background in Public Relations, Candy has developed a name for herself in Gender Differences and is also a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). Today Candy continues to teach and coaching others in the art of gender differences.

How do you handle questions from an audience you don’t know the answer to?

Whether I know the answer or not to an audience question, I always acknowledge the person who asked the question and thank them. Then depending on the question I may do one or a combination of these three things:

1. I will simply admit that I don’t know. I think it is important to be open and honest and by admitting you don’t know, you are able to avoid looking silly if you are wrong. In fact, this honest approach may allow you to be more endearing and trustworthy to the audience.

2. I will refer the question to the audience as someone usually has some suggestions. This approach has the added benefit of creating audience engagement. It gives them the opportunity to think rather than just sit and listen, while also offering someone the chance to shine in front of their peers.

3. If appropriate, I will offer to find out and get back to them.

If you don’t know the answer to a question asked, be sure to find out the answer before your next engagement in an effort to improve and add value to your presentation.

That’s all for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s success tip, and be sure to check back again soon for more advice from the experts.

Until then,

Allan Poole