How to deal with hostile audiences and hostile questions

TJ’s Insights

March 8, 2005

New Books, TJ Walker’s “Media Training A-Z”
http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/mediatrainingaz.html
“Presentation Training A-Z” http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/presentaz.html

How To Deal With Hostile Questions

You’ve just finished your speech and, hard to imagine, you weren’t universally loved. In fact, some people in the audience are now firing tough questions at you.

What do you do?

For starters, never say or do anything that suggests you feel it is a tough question. It’s not as simple as the following the cliché of “never let ‘em see you sweat.” But that is a good starting point. If you look at each questioner and each question in a polite and pleasant manner, audience members won’t feel like they got under your skin. (That is often the goal of some questioners)

Next, your body language must be totally consistent with your confident voice and answers. You must smile pleasantly, look directly at the questioner, and gesture normally. Avoid crossing your arms, shaking your head or putting your arms on your hips in a defiant manner.

The best way to handle tough questions from a tough audience is to pretend that neither exists. There is no such thing as a tough question. There can be easy questions where you know the answer or tough questions that you don’t know the answer to. In that case, the answer is easy because all you have to do is say “I don’t know.” Then, announce that you will find out the answer if it ascertainable. If the question is inherently unknowable, simply say you don’t know and move on.

You never want to appear to be smug, arrogant or self-satisfied in front of any audience, especially a hostile one, but you do want to seem satisfied. It can often be a fine line to walk, but if you act as though you feel you just gave a great answer, even that you just got the better end of a debate, then a large part of your audience may be persuaded of your opinion.

When in front of a hostile audience, your emotions must convey that you are having fun, are confident and seem to be having the time of your life. If you do anything that even hints that you are scared, mad, annoyed, peeved, or flustered, that will completely ruin the overall impression you want to leave your audience. You will be placed in a reactive mode by your questioner; hardly the place you want to be.

Never react in any way other than how you want to be. If a questioner is rude to you, respond by being polite back. If an audience member throws sarcasm your way, don’t send it back. Instead, stick your positive message in a positive manner and you will find that audiences, no matter how hostile, won’t be able to touch you.

Do you need a keynote speaker? http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/keynote.html

Please visit the Media Training Worldwide store at http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/learningtoolsonlinestore.html

Media and presentation training workshops http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/workshopcalendar.html

If you have not already subscribed to this newsletter and would like to do so, please send blank email to tj1-62591@autocontactor.com

Author of Media Training A-Z
& Presentation Training A-Z

TJ Walker
Media Training Worldwide
212-764-4955

Media Training Worldwide provides more media and presentation training workshops and seminars (54 separate courses) than any other company in the world. Media Training Worldwide also publishes more than 100 presentation training books, DVDs, CDs, and other information products and is the largest presentation/media training publisher in the world. For a product catalog or more information on training services call 800-755-7220 or visit http://mediatrainingworldwide.com/mediatrainingcatalogapril2004.pdf.

Media Training Worldwide
110 West 40th Street
Suite 203
New York, NY 10018
212-764-4955
www.mediatrainingworldwide.com

May Re-Print without permission IF you provide a link to Media Training Worldwide at http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com and 212-764-4955.