Answering Questions on Conference Call and Webmeetings So you Accomplish Your Goals

Running conference calls and webmeetings has become a fact of life for most managers of remote teams. Yet fewer than 10% of us admit to getting any formal training in how to run them effectively. When you think about the hours of your life you'll never get back after a bad virtual meeting, you have to wonder at the costs of this.

One of the areas where many of us fail to really get the return on our time and mental anguish is during the obligatory question and answer period at the end of the call, or "Q and A". Too many meeting leaders (and participants) treat this like it's the only thing between them and freedom; get it over with as soon as possible and get on with the "real business" you should be doing.

What we don't realize is that this actually a critical phase in accomplishing the purpose of our meetings. You can't get them to buy in to your strategy if they have lingering doubts, bad information or unanswered questions about how this impacts them. They sure won't take action, which means you've just wasted their time and yours.

Here are some tips for making the most of Q and A so that you accomplish your goals:

• There are no bonus points for speed. Many of us have a natural inclination to want to answer the question as quickly as possible, since that makes us look prepared and very, very smart. But how smart do you look when you don't answer the question the person actually asked, or give too much information and start a barrage of questions that are off-topic or counterproductive? Take your time and answer quickly the first time.
• Repeat the question. A best practice is to always repeat the question. (if it's written in chat you might have to decipher their spelling or intent).There are two reasons for this. The first is very practical: because of different audio connections (or they were just daydreaming) a lot of people may not have heard the question in the first place. Let them hear the question before you answer it. Secondly, by simply repeating the question you give your own brain a chance to think about the answer before just blurting out the first thing that occurs to you.
• Take out negative language. Sometimes you don't just want to repeat the question as it was asked. "Whose idiotic idea was this?" is not exactly how you want to position your answer (especially when the idiot in question is you). What they really want to know is "Where did this idea come from?". That's a much easier question to answer and much less threatening. Remember when your jaw clenches, it is reflected in your voice. Smile and stay positive.
• Pause and start on the first word of your answer. Fair or not, any answer that starts with "uhhhh" is going to be suspect. Take a pause, imagine the first word of your answer and start there. Don't fear the pause. What feels like fumbling for an answer to you might actually seem like you're giving thought to the answer to your audience. Heaven forbid they think we've actually thought before answering.
• Finish your answer by tying back to your outcome. Many presenters fall in to the trap of answering questions for their own sake. Remember that every answer you give, every part of your presentation until you sign off is designed to do one thing: move your audience towards taking your desired action. This doesn't matter if it's training, process information or a sales demo. The answers you give should always move you closer to your goal. The easiest way to do this is to use some simple phrases at the end of your answer;
  • "so that's why this information is important, because when you use this process--."
  • "what that means to you back on the job is--"
  • "of course, in your particular example that will help you (whatever it is you can help them do)"
• Test buy-in by making sure you answered the question. When you've answered the question, to check with the person who asked it. You want to make sure they understand the answer. It's also important to gauge their buy-in. Questions like "does that make it more likely you'll use it?" or "is there anything else that might get in the way of your using this product?' can not only surface other concerns, but might actually get them to say that they're okay, which is a signal to the rest of the audience that people are buying in to your ideas, and building momentum.

Read more:

• Why Asking "Any Questions" Doesn't Generate Any Questions