Ep. 18 How to Deliver Q & A the Unforgettable Way!

Hey, Mark, in every training, every presentation, every speech, there's this one aspect that people use and it seems so simple and so obvious, and most people just breeze over and think they know what they're doing. But if you do it right, it does engage the audience. If you do it wrong, it distances the audience and makes you seem boring.

Yeah, I think I know where you're going with this, Darren. I'm sure our listeners are also very, very curious to know what you're talking about. Right.

Is that a question? Well, yes, of course we're talking about questions and answers. It seems so obvious, but this is taking a look on the inside of doing it right. There's dos and there's don'ts. You do it wrong and you are very forgettable. You do it right and it just engages you and you become unforgettable. Let's do this.

Yes, sir.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the Unforgettable Presentations podcast with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown.

Mark Brown, your life tells a story and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation. Ahas. Let's dive right in.

All right. Welcome, Mark. How are you today, man?

I'm doing great. I'm blessed. And I can't wait to tackle this idea of how do we handle Q and A sessions as part of our presentations?

Because you do it wrong. And quite frankly.

Crickets, you love that.

I love this sound machine.

But it's true, you know, there are many presentations, certainly in trainings, they have Q and A, and many keynotes also have time. When you get a chance for the audience to ask your questions, you get to share some more knowledge with them. But you said you can do it right and you can do it wrong. And I'm curious to know, and I'm sure our listeners are, what is. What's the best way to get into a Q and A? I mean, you're giving your speech and most people, I hear, they'll say, well, yeah, at the very end, before you leave, I got, you know, anybody got questions? And you're right, you get crickets and nobody looks at you. Is there a right and a wrong way to get that transition going?

Well, of course there is, Mark. That's why we have this episode. But what do we do and how do we do it? Because Q and A is one of those things that just everyone oversimplifies that. I got it. I open it up to questions, they ask questions and we're good. And now I've met them where they're at. So that's the good intention, is meeting them where they're at, filling in the Swiss cheese holes. That maybe your presentation opened up a few more questions in their mind. So it can be done well, but it can also just be anticlimactic and end your presentation in just a very boring way. And I see this much more with my corporate clients where they're. Yeah, it's almost like they build it into their slide deck. Any questions? Q and A, and then they go right to the thank you slide. My two pet peeves for slide questions.

The thank you slide. Yeah, I know the thank you slide.

So I think it's more prevalent in corporate. But either way, no matter whether you're a trainer, keynote speaker, or a presenter in the corporate world, Q and A, they don't tend to do that from the pulpit. And maybe they do maybe at some churches, but this is more specifically for Q and A in presentations.

I got a question for you, Darren. I mean, actually two part question. As you said, they can fill in the Swiss cheese holes and add some more value. But we're going to figure out, though, why to do Q and A and how to do it in terms of transitions in your speech. Again, I grew up with the idea of you give your speech and at the very end you slide up and say, are there any questions? And you're telling me, no, no, Elrongo, don't do that. So what's a better way, more effective way to create that transition? And when should I really do my Q and A?

Well, one of the big don'ts, as you know, Mark, is don't end in Q and A. Never, ever. If you haven't already heard our presentation podcast on structure, the sexy unsexy, that's how it's labeled. Definitely go through that. And we do talk about why it should never be at the end. But since we're talking about Q and A, it should never be the end because you're at the mercy of a horrible last question. You're giving away your power. We've got to reign that in and take control of that. And here's what I notice in corporate too. As soon as the Q and A slide goes up, half the audience starts checking out, grabbing their phones, opening their purses, gathering their notebook or whatever they have with them. And they're done. They're done. They're not even paying attention at that point. It's almost like that, okay, Q and A, what's next in my life? So we've got a lunch break, coffee, bathroom. But it ain't you. It ain't listening to your last point. So one of the things that Mark and I and Patricia Fripp is someone who's also taught this a lot, is to set up your Q and A by letting people know you have an important relevant point that you're going to close with. However, that works for your presentation and your training. But you've got to set it up so they know there's another nugget worth listening to so they don't check out.

So you'll say, listen, before my last point. What are your short, specific questions? And the thing is, before my last point, I got one more powerful point to share. Or you could even set it up. By the way you present. The audience knows you're not quite done yet. You haven't quite closed that loop. So they know there's one more point to come. And if you say, what are your short. I got time for a few short, specific questions. We have time for a few short, specific questions before I make my final point. They hear before I make my final point. And they hear a few short, specific. You actually create the atmosphere for controlling what happens in your Q and A session by doing it that way. Thank you so much to great Patricia Fripp.

Yeah. And I love that she says short specific. Especially if you're speaking to speakers who they don't really have a question. They just want this opportunity to be heard. And that's why we do that. Because then if we cut someone off, we've already set the rules that we're not the bad guy. Once we set the rules, and it's our control, it's our world, we have this now. Now here's how you can play in Q and A. We've got to set that up on how they can play. So by making sure it's short specific, if somebody's rambling, you can cut that off. And Patricia does this so brilliantly. And she'll just say, but what is your short specific question?

Hey, Darren, that's probably your best script impersonation I've heard in a long, long time. That's pretty good. Your short specific question. What do you have? Yeah, she's one of a kind. But it's true. If we can get our audience in line with the idea of asking short, specific questions, there's only one little catch there Darren, we almost have a responsibility now to give short, specific answers where possible. So unless you. You ask for questions and you really only want one, and you give a diatribe, a mini essay in response, that may not be the best way to serve your audience. So if you could give a short, specific, brief, but clear answer as well, that will help the audience along, and it shows your concern for them that you really want to get through the section with enough information and time for you to make that one final point that they're expecting, that they're waiting for.

When we talk about Q and A, too many keynote speakers don't use Q and A because it's a keynote. They've got 45 minutes and they got their message down. But some do. This is where I really want to get clear because it's so important. Just the transition into Q and A, that's the most important part. Coming out of it is second most important. But literally, here's what I mean by this. If you look at keynote, the breadth and the life of keynoting is storytelling for training. It's instruction. So storytelling is to keynoting as instruction. So if you're giving exercise for an instruction or instructions for an exercise that they're about to do, we obviously think it's clear in our head, but it's got to be super clear. We're taking the time to do a whole podcast just about this, because it's important. We see so many people doing it wrong. So setting it up, you almost have to take a breath. You can't just say, okay, so we're gonna go to questions in just a moment, which I love when Ed Tate teaches us that in a moment, we're gonna open it up to questions. So I love that he sets that expectation so well. He's such a good trainer.

He is, yeah.

But before we do, now here, we're just saying we've got that one point that's very generic. We want you to sell the last idea point nugget, because if it's a point, Mark and I are just using that as an example. One of the things that I do in Q and A when I'm doing the Path to Powerful Presentations, because I do open that up sometimes, depending on the time that I've had allotted, is I will say, in a moment, I'm going to give you the starting point of a presentation. What you need to do first. I call this the cherry tree effect. But first, let's open it up to see if you have any questions. So there's a Specific value based reason to listen. The cherry tree effect gets them curious. That's one way to bring them in. The fact that it's the way you start your presentation that most presenters don't, I really want to emphasize you've got to sell them staying engaged before you switch over to Q and A.

And the key there is the Q and A is not just the what, there is a why as well behind it. So I thank you for sharing that, Darren. There has to be a why behind it. And you also said they had the expectation of what's coming next. What is the cherry tree effect? That's maybe your final point. With that thought in mind, I expect something more. I'm going to get my questions answered, but I can't leave because as the old commercial says. But wait, there's more. You also get two carving knives. Not two carving knives, but you get the idea. So once you establish that. And now the floor is kind of open for questions and you may have 10 people because you're so engaging who want to ask you questions. You know, you haven't got time for 10. What are some ways to govern how many questions you have? Or are there other ways to get questions besides in the room with a hand raised or somebody standing up? What are the options for getting questions?

For Q and A sessions, the standard is people raising their hands. And if it's a larger audience, maybe there's a mic runner who will run with the mic. And I love is the name Mike.

I'm sorry, that was bad.

That was really bad.

We actually had Mike do that. Come on. We had Mike do that at Leading the Champions. He was our mic runner. We did, yeah.

And I love if you've never seen the box that Ford Sakes uses. It's literally a box that has a microphone inside it and it allows you to toss the box. So it makes it super interactive. I love that. It's just. It's so professional. If you haven't seen it, you can check out Ford talking about that. But I don't remember the name of it. I'll have to look that up.

But yeah, it is if you. Right now. But it's. You can check Ford's website, I guess. Ford primeconcepts.com yeah, it's basically a box.

That you toss and it's a branded box. So you can get it branded, it's foam. But then you've got to have the microphone that goes inside it too. So you've got to be working with a professional crew or it doesn't work. Just want to give you some of that. And then one of the other ways we do this at our big event stagetime live, is that we'll actually have a whole 40 minutes set aside for Q and A. Now, this is part of the conference, as opposed to part of a single speech, but want to give you some options. And what we do is we have our host, our mc, Mike Davis, ask people, and we hand out a form for them to write it down. And it goes in a box in the back of the room or a basket that's labeled, you know, your questions here. And then on break or during the next session, they'll sift through them to really get the ones that represent all the aspects of speaking or presenting or whatever our subject is that day. So it's a great way to sift through a lot of questions without offending anyone or blowing anyone off. And at the same time, not all the questions are hogged by one subject. If you're covering many, like we cover the business and the skill. We don't want all skill questions. We want a mix of the two. Cause that's why people are there.

Yeah. In addition, also, that system allows you to realize that sometimes you get three or four people with the same question. So rather than have to go through all that, oh, I had the same question. You eliminate that. You choose the questions that you need to get responded to. And of course, you'll find the most common ones. And we always respond to the most common ones. But you're right, you cover both business and speaking, and you govern how many questions you have. You govern what you respond to. And in our experience, that system, in that context, in that forum, works very, very.

Again, the questions can always throw away the wacky ones, too.

We lose those. But also we can be very, very clear what the questions are. And hopefully you get legible, clear printed handwriting. If not, the ballot is discarded and no longer counts. And we get to read the question ourselves. So we make sure everyone hears it. Because sometimes somebody in the back of the room will ask a question, and they may have a really crazy Jamaican accent like me, and you can't understand the question and don't laugh.

And one of the things we've done, Mark, if you remember, with our forms, because it's evolved over time, because we've been doing this for over 11 years, is on the form we have a check mark with each of the experts. So if the question. If they want Mark's answer to this question, they can check off Mark if they. There's also a box that says anyone and there's another one that says all of them. So we're really allowing the clarity to happen. Sometimes when the pressure or the emotion of a conference, you're like, oh, you can't say it right, or, well, I wanted to hear Mark's perspective, or I wanted Ford's perspective because Ford is the website guru. It allows that specificity, specificity in that atmosphere. So it serves us really well. That's so cool that this came up. This wasn't even in our plan, but when I started thinking about it, we've done it a few times and it's evolved.

I was gonna say that that really does work in that environment we still, though, deal with. And on the average, we do have the person in the room who will raise their hand and say, I got a question. They may not have a box to toss like Ford, but the mic runner runs to them and they ask a question. And that's great, but not every room has. Is large enough to have a mic runner. Sometimes you're in a room and there's no mic in the back and somebody in the front asks a question and they'll say, so, Darren, when I'm writing my speech, how good would my opening be? And you're in the front row, you hear the question, and the guy in the cheap seats hears, you can't hear anything. And we start, and I've seen so many speakers. They hear the front row question and they begin to answer the front row question. And the people in the back are going, I didn't hear the question. What is he or she talking about? And the speaker is unaware. They've made a faux pas. How do we correct that mistake?

Yeah, well, obviously we need to repeat the question. We need to. And sometimes we gotta remind ourselves, or, you know, if there's a speaker in the audience, in your audience, usually someone will yell out, repeat the question. You know.

But for you, the speaker, you know.

It makes us look unprofessional when we don't actually think that way and deliver that way. So we've gotta always just be aware that we've got to repeat the question so the people can hear the context of our answer. It also allows you to be clearer with your answer because everyone in the audience has the context. Without that, it's not as good of an answer.

It's funny, I was at an event one time, I can't recall where it was, but they had a Q and A going on. And the session host or the assistant facilitator had a piece of paper, letter size, and she had written on it printed in black letters, repeat question. And they held it up for the speaker because the speaker was not repeating the question. What made me think was not so much that the person who was in the session host had the card, but it was that they felt the need to have the card, which told me that in their experience, not every speaker who does Q and A repeats the question when it comes. And it almost actually surprised me. Darren, I figured if you're a speaker and you're gonna do Q and A, you should know this is a basic principle. But when I give my kudos to the session host, it may occur to me, if you have any goal to be a pro, if you will be doing a Q and A, this is a cardinal thing. You have to repeat the question because people in the back will not hear it. So thank you to those session hosts who hold the cards, but speakers do not make those cards necessary.

And thank you for mic runners. That makes it so simple that we don't have to repeat the question, but as a presenter, we've got to be able to adjust to every arena and we never know. Exactly. So if there's a mic runner, you don't have to repeat the question unless the question wasn't clear or muddled. Another challenge, Mark, is priming the pump. Sometimes you're in front of those audiences who. Who, let's just say, aren't as extroverted and aren't as connected and aren't as confident maybe asking questions. So if we're gonna do Q and A, and that's the best thing for our presentation and for the audience to serve them and meet them where they're at, we need to prime the pump. They've got questions, but maybe they're a little on the shy side. Nothing wrong with that. So couple different ideas for priming the pump. Getting the first or second question going. Mark, what do you do? Or how do you handle that?

You ask any questions, and you get Darren's favorite song, Crickets. Here we go. Any questions, and you might feel awkward if it has ever happened to you, you know the feeling. One option you can have is to tell the audience, you know, one of the questions I always get is, and in effect, you're asking the first question yourself, thereby priming the pump. And when you mention one of the first questions I always get one of the most common questions I get. You look at the audience, you scan the audience as you ask the question, and here's why. It's very likely somebody in the audience will know what that question is. They will have wanted to ask the question, and by nodding their heads, they're telling you, thank you for asking the question I was thinking of, but I wasn't asking myself. That validates that you're on the right track. And when you answer that question, that responds to a question they wanted to ask, can any effect open the floodgates for the next question? That has happened to me several times, and it's very, very effective. But you got to. To keep your eyes on the audience. You're not just tossing a question out. You want to make sure you're fully engaged with them. And we'll discuss how to engage even more effectively in a couple of seconds. But by watching the audience and seeing the reaction, you'll see two or three people say, yeah, they're telling you, I was going to ask that, but I just didn't want to raise my voice. But now you've answered your question, you've opened the floodgates, and then questions can continue to flow thereafter. Your thoughts on that, Darren?

Yeah, it's just. It's people. We're dealing with people, and we've got to meet them where they're at. Again, some audiences more open, you know, you talk to a group of speakers and you even say boo and give them the opportunity to say anything. They're. But that's not every audience. In fact, that's the exception to most. So priming the pump. I think as professionals and as experts, we need to have one or two questions if we're gonna open it up. We gotta have one or two ready to go ourselves so we don't have those crickets. Another technique. I don't even remember where I picked this up, but I love and have fun with it. That I'll ask. Okay, who's got the first question? And if nobody says anything, I'll say, okay, who has the second question?

Yeah, that's cool.

And that laugh usually breaks the ice. And then somebody starts raising their hand. So I've never had that fail. Hey, but nothing is foolproof. You never know. Every audience is different, and your rapport with the audience is different than mine. So what we're trying to do is give you some ideas, some strategies to help your engagement so they're more open and more comfortable opening up to you.

Well, you said engagement, Darren, as you mentioned that rapport, engagement and getting them involved. What do you think about actually leaving the platform, stepping into the audience and getting close to him and almost having that conversation? I was in London, England. A couple of years ago and did a full day program, and it was a lot going on, and it was obviously Q and A. And I walked out into the audience, and I felt this connection. It was like I was able to create an atmosphere of intimacy, like we're hanging out together, and it really just lend itself to having good conversation. I heard a sound. You were that machine man, you something.

Else when you stepped out into the audience. I love. Write this down, if you haven't already. And, Mark, make this a keeper of your own. But the atmosphere of intimacy. The atmosphere of intimacy when you step off the stage. I love doing this. I have pictures of me, literally. I did one keynote Mark, for Miracle Year in January, and I have pictures of me where I. Not only did I step out into the audience, I stepped up on one of the chairs, and I think I might have even stepped on the table.

That's so. Darren.

There's a little Robin Williams in me, but it was working. I knew, and I was comfortable, and they loved it. So that way, I was standing in the middle of a big audience. So by stepping on the chair, it raised me up. Being short, five, eight. It raised me up so people could still see me. But then I'm out there, and I did. I broke that wall, if you will. So when you and I break that wall, that's when we're creating that atmosphere of intimacy. Then it's almost like, ooh, he's out here with us, rather than up there on high.

Yeah, yeah. And they almost feel. They feel comfortable having that conversation with you in that way. And it really is very effective. And I'm not sure many speakers realize how powerful it can be when you step into the audience and have that conversation. Even in a large room with a follow spotlight, that can be very, very effective because they feel like he came and talked to us, or she came in and spent time with us, and we really felt we could. We could talk and laugh together. And that level of conversation, you can enjoy each other. You still answer their questions, and then you make your way around the room. And it can also lend itself, Darren, to the hint of when the Q and A is coming to an end. As you make your way back to the platform.

Look at you.

That's an indicator. Okay, we're winding down. Q and A is back here. She's back on the platform. And that sets them up to get the last point you want to make. So it's not just what you say. Your movement. Your movement can actually set the audience up and have them literally Track with you where you want them to leave. You're smiling there, Mark.

I'm ready to cry here. My little boy's grown up. He's teaching stageology. It's funny because I do that, but I never realized what you're saying, which it's the indication of. Okay, we're wrapping this up. The other thing that I like to do when I'm out in the audience, and I just prefer to do that, you don't have to do that, but it works for me, I like to get up close to the person asking the question and share that moment and that connection via eye contact so they're more comfortable, they're more authentic, and they feel my trust. You know, when we're on stage, it's, do I trust you? Do I agree with you? Are you the expert? And if you truly are and have that confidence, by going out into the audience and looking in their eye up close rather than from the stage. Now, obviously, there's sometimes or places you can't do that, but even if you're in a big audience, you go down into the audience and it changes the mood.

Definitely. And not only. Here's the cool part. That particular act, that one act of getting closer and having eye contact, you're saying to the person, I'm not just answering your question, I'm answering you. It's subtle. It's small, but it's subtle. You're not just answering the question. You're answering the interaction individual who's asking the question. And that can score major. Because now they figure, wow, he or she is investing that time to come talk to me and answer my. It's like having a personal consultation with 300 people watching. It's pretty awesome. So don't just think about answering the question. Think of the atmosphere, the intimacy. Think of the entire experience you're giving to the audience when you respond in this particular way. And hopefully, after this podcast, you will never look at Q and A the.

Same way again, guaranteed.

Boom. That's fun, man.

When we're creating that atmosphere of intimacy, also that person who stands up to ask the question, they represent the audience. How we engage that person, everyone feels it, whether it's good or bad. It's like each question asker is a representative of them. So they're one of the audience, they're part of the audience. So the way we connect with them, the way we engage with them affects everyone. They're a representative. And then, Mark, one of the other things, too, is the hecklers. We gotta bring that up. How do you handle the hecklers? That person that just wants the mic, they're gonna call you out because they think differently. And I really like. If I'm getting, if it's not Q and A or I'm getting somebody randomly heckling me, I like to walk out right next to them because they're not as tough if you're standing right next to them. It almost calms them down a little. It's like, no, dude, I'm right here. I hear you. Because they want to be heard.

Yeah, they do. Now before you go any further, I know you got some, a little more thing you want to add to this, but I got a call on your comedy background because my understanding is that your background in comedy and stand up can, can provide a little, a little experience with the guy who's heckling because he wants to be heard. He's had too much to drink. Unless you were always doing Girl Scout comedy routines. I don't know. Have you had any. Anybody or of your mentors talk about what to do when this person wants to heckle you while you're doing what you do? How do you apply the comedian response to the professional speaking response? Or are they different?

They're very different. Because in corporate, you know, when you're at a comedy club, it's that experience, that moment, and they're done and they're gone. When you're at a convention with people who are from the same industry, or if you're in a company where they literally have to work together, you can't be as vicious or direct because. Or you can't make fun of that person because everyone else has to work with them. You just change their work environment for the rest of their career. So we've got to be a little more kind, give a little more grace, but at the same time, we can't give this person control. What I like to do is to just acknowledge. We've got to acknowledge every question with a thank you or great question or, you know, that's the thing is we can't say that's an awesome question because then if somebody else asks a question, well, mine's not awesome. You've got to be careful of that. But if somebody asks a definite mean spirited question, we say, you know, hey, that's a good question. And that takes us off on a whole different tangent. If you want, I'm happy to chat you with, with you in the hallway later on or, you know, I'll give you my. Well, I don't want to give them my contact information. But have a.

So don't give them mine. Okay?

Oh, there you go. I hadn't thought of that till you brought it up. Thank you. Just reach me@markbrownspeaks.com.

Thank you so very much. I love you, buddy. Thank you.

So we've almost got to take them out, and usually people know ahead of time. Here's the Some of the audience dichotomy that I think is. Or the anatomy of an audience. Remember that, Mark? The anatomy of an audience.

Wow. 2010. No, no. 05.

Maybe that if somebody almost heckles you, even if they're pretending they're being nice, and then they have another comment and then a third comment. By the second comment, the audience starts to turn on them and they're telling them to shut up. We don't have to.

Yeah, you gotta maintain your dignity. If you're being professional and the audience knows it, after a while they're gonna be annoyed by what this person is doing and they'll be, hey, man, settle it down. Go ahead, Mr. Lacroix. And I've seen that happen before and.

They want us to call them out at that point, but now we have permission. So from my standup days, you know, there's quote unquote heckler lines that are standard stock lines that anyone can use. So if somebody's like really loud in front having this conversation during the show, one of the quote unquote stock lines is, hey, where did you learn to whisper? A helicopter. Which can be funny, but it could also come across as mean if we're jumping on them too soon. And a new comedian. When I was super new and super nervous, I would have those stock lines just ready to go because of my anxiety. So if someone would say anything, it would be like, I would, like, lash out too soon before I had the audience behind me because I didn't know what I was doing back then. So in a corporate setting, that feeling is magnified. So we have to be even more professional, even more clear, but we're still in control, and we can't give away that strength or that power.

You said earlier, give grace but not power, or give grace but not control. That's a keeper right there. I'm going to get right. Yeah, it's great. So hecklers can be an issue, and sometimes they want to be seen and heard, but sometimes you open it up to Q and A and somebody with supreme intellect or with some twist of their thinking, asks a question that you don't have the perfect answer for and may have happened to somebody who's listening to this podcast right now.

If it doesn't, it will.

It's not if, it's when. And one approach I often take is I try to be as clear as possible. First of all, I'd be honest. I'll say that's a. Thanks for the question. It's a great question, Darren. And to be truly honest, I don't have exactly the answer you need, but I can certainly find the answer for you, and I'm happy to get with you offline and talk about it when it's more convenient. Would that work for you? So I'm offering to find the answer, to get the answer, and to personally contact them directly and interact with them, to give them what they seek. And I'm doing it graciously, professionally, without not being defensive. I'm being honest about it. But I've made that commitment to invest time in them. And most of the time, because of that commitment, they're okay with that because now I know they'll get my attention and they'll get me one on one if they have to. And that generally works. Are there any other techniques you've seen or used yourself to kind of help when you didn't quite have the answer they wanted?

Yeah, that definitely. We've got to defuse that situation right there. Put it in the parking lot, as Ed Tate calls it, for coming back to later. Another idea or phrase could be, hey, that's a great question and I love speaking. Yes, I won the speech contest, the world championship, but I do not know everything about speaking. A great person to answer that, or a great book that I might recommend. That is the specialty. So that way we're not taken away from our credibility, but we're being open and honest and authentic, and that's what the audience wants. One of the worst things we can do is BS or pretend we know the answer.

Dance.

Yeah, just like, hey, I don't have all. You don't have to have all the answers, because even if you did have the answer, that person isn't going to agree with you no matter what. And you don't want to go at it. You ain't going to win. The audience loses. And you're getting paid to serve the audience.

So I like that you're getting paid to serve the audience. Give the best you have. And I think. And it also goes back to the idea of authenticity, honesty. Because if the audience feels that you're not being honest with them, your credibility is going to tank immediately. And when your credibility tanks, guess what? Audience members talk to each other, meeting planners talk to each other, corporate officers talk to each other. And just as quickly as they refer you to somebody else, they can almost blacklist you immediately because of your lack of authenticity. So whatever happens, you want to be authentic. And I love the idea if you can state a point of reference, a book, a podcast, a recording, which has greater credibility, and you can use that reference. It also shows while you don't know everything, you have access to resources that can provide the answers that they need. That's a really good response. So glad you shared that, Darren. Yeah.

And we can remind the audience I'm not the ultimate expert in this area. Even though I have credibility, I was asked to come here and share my experience. That question is not something I've had experience with. So I'm going to choose not to try and make something up to or however you want to word it. You get the idea.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do get the idea. And I'm really hoping that perhaps you're hearing this right now, and at some point you have had a situation where somebody asked you a question, you didn't know the answer, and you thought to yourself, how can I maneuver this? How can I, you know, do a Toastmasters twist, a table topic to give the answer I want? Your audience is intelligent enough to know when you're trying to do that. So honesty, credibility, authenticity will go a long way. I would not be surprised if someone were speaking to you offline in the parking lot and say, you know what? I'm glad you're so honest about that. I really appreciate that. And you never know what that can lead to as well. Maintain your authenticity, maintain your honesty, and hang tight to your credibility.

Yeah. We also have to remember that when we're there, we're there to serve. We are just a part of their whole event. And chances are they know who the problem children are in that audience, because you're not the first one. They're just looking to be heard or get their voice out there or get their opinion out there. And sometimes, to be honest and to just get you to understand that people bring their whole life to your presentation. If some major catastrophe or major tragedy happened in their life, you are just in front of them at the wrong time. So we've got to remember that. You know what?

Yeah.

Mark, One of my favorite movies is Peaceful Warrior, and it's got this beautiful line, and it says, those people that are the hardest to love are the ones who need it the most.

Most. Yeah.

And so we've got to remember those people Heckling us, those people trying to disrupt something else is happening, it's usually not us. So we've got to just be careful that we gotta be professional and not lash back or even have that urge to lash back because they're coming from their experience.

You know, it's interesting, Darren, when you say that to me, what the image that comes to my mind, I often think in pictures. And the image that came to my mind was, as a traveler, you could appreciate this was the individual who stands at a kiosk at the boarding gate at the airport. Flight delays, weather, pilot wasn't available. You're late for a connection. And I've seen so many people who come to the desk and. And they're missing their flight. They want to see their family. Something goes wrong. And the poor person who's there, been there for the last seven hours trying to help the clients out, and they're getting yelled at like they're a pilot or they control the weather. And I've seen them. I've seen so many of them just maintain their composure and smile through a difficult situation. I flew last week into Chicago, but I flew into Chicago Midway, not Chicago o'. Hare. O' Hare is the more popular airport, obviously. And I was at the boarding gate to get my flight back home. And this gentleman was there. He was upset. He asked for a supervisor, and she was there. He asked for a manager. Manager was not there. She told him, well, I can't give you a personal number, sir. What had happened was. Or they say what happened was. What had happened was. I'm sorry, Darren.

No, you're not.

What happened was he had booked his flight on Chicago o', Hare, but somehow found himself at Chicago Midway. And she was saying, sir, I'm so sorry. We don't provide a car service from between our two airports. You know, your ticket does say Chicago o', Hare, but where's Chicago Midway? You're at the wrong airport. I'm sorry. I don't want to tell you, sir. And she was being very, very nice, and he was almost not hearing it. He wanted to talk to the president of the plane company. I mean, he wanted to talk to anybody who was, you know, who knows, or anybody. And she was very gracious. She was. Maintain her even demeanor. She was smiling, she was calm. And I had to thank her afterwards for how she handled that. And I say all that to say sometimes, we are that attendant. We are that gate agent right there at the gate, trying to board the audience on their flight to their destination, but they have been delayed Something went wrong, the car broke down, they missed their original flight. And we have to be the one to help diffuse that and to handle that with grace and with cast and with professionalism. So even Q and A, it can be likened to that traveler who's going through a difficult time. So I really appreciate you sharing that point, Darren. We don't know what their lives bring, but while we are there, we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to enrich their lives, advance their thinking, and to make their world better. And that's important.

When we open up Q and A, we're opening up both opportunity and opportunity.

Yeah, yeah.

Opportunity to be closer and opportunity for them to speak their mind, if you will. So we've got to remember that with the applause comes responsibility.

Definitely. You know, we've covered so much, Darren, regarding the Q, we talked about how to get there, how do we bring this whole thing home. In doing a Q and A, you've.

Got to remember the intent. By the way, a great tip is to record all your presentations. We say this, but there's reasons why, if you're getting the same questions over and over again, it could mean that you didn't answer them or you didn't set it up or you opened a loop in your presentation earlier. Q and A also gives us that opportunity to learn about what's not working or what is not clear in our presentation. So it's a great clue to how you could make your regular presentation or training more effective. Record yourself, go back and listen to the questions, because you might be thinking, I talked about that. Well, maybe you did. You just didn't do it right or clear or in a helpful way or. So they got it. So we've got to be careful. Definitely record yourself and learn from your own Q and A because it's gold. It's gold. Especially if you're getting the same questions over and over again. But the reason that we do Q and A is to clear up and to help meet people where they're at in their industry. They have their world, we know our content, and we are the bridge between our content and their world. In that we have to have the ability to. To adjust in the moment, be agile and flexible.

So we've gotten our first two or three points. We have one more point to make. We have gone into Q and A. We have asked for a few short, specific questions. The questions have come and we can, as I said earlier, if you're in the audience, you can signal the end by going back to the platform, but you can Also let the audience know we have last question. Some will say we have time for one more question. Or will say, I'll take one final question. Simple lines. So the audience now knows you have one question to go and it might be helpful to say I have one. I'll take one final question before I get to my last point and before I get to my last point again at that time. Reinforces to them there is some. There's more value coming before you get up and walk out the door. Any other ideas for closing out the Q and A and going to your last point and ending your presentation? Darren?

Yeah. I mean, I love the idea that you came up with like stageology, if you're in the audience to then go back up on stage kind of indicating that part's over. But we've got to be conscious of our time because Q and A can easily get away because it is. Is so engaging. You're directly engaging with the audience. Time flies faster, especially with a good audience. With a bad audience, it slows down.

Oh, yeah.

So we've got to be aware that maybe we. And don't use a number. Don't use. We're going to take five questions. You could say we're going to answer questions for about five minutes. But we want to give a number because now if they get to somebody who might be shy, might be waiting till question three. Oh, I gotta be the next one. So we've gotta be careful about that. So it's that important. But we've gotta indicate that we're coming to a wrap and we're gonna take one more. And what I'd suggest is when you take those questions, you then once you're done, move to another section of the stage. Almost. If you're center on the stage, you want to move to the audience's. Right. Like we're moving forward. So you almost walk away from that to start into your next point.

Mark. Yeah, that's a good idea. Using the stage. I hadn't really thought about that piece. You can use the stage to let the audience know we're moving right along to a different point in our presentation and then wrapping it up. Do you often recap the whole presentation before you close after Q and A? Because some speakers think of Q and A as a break in the flow of knowledge. I don't agree with that. I think the Q and A is to augment and to supplement what you brought to them before. So your final point should not be a diversion or a digression from what you're talking because hopefully the Q and A will be on point and you won't need to recreate again. Oh, before we forget, before we left and went for a walk, I talked about A, B, C and D. Hopefully you will not with structure. Right. It'll flow properly and you won't need to go back and recap. But the thing is, you've got to close and close tightly. You've got to make sure that the point you promised is the point you deliver. The area of agility may have to come from how you bridge your answer to the last question to the last point you want to make. So your responsibility when you take that final question is to find a way to create. Create a seamless transition between your response and the last point you want to make. And if you do that well enough, over time, it'll almost seem as if the Q and A was part of your presentation with a smooth transition or segue into your conclusion. Would you agree, Darren?

Yeah. One quick idea, too, what you could do. If there was one question that was specifically funny or poignant, it might be a nice idea if you do choose to recap so you come right out of Q and A. So one way is to go right into your last point. Another way would be to recap. So if you want to give unforgettable presentations, Number one, never turn down stage time. Number two, have a proven structure. Number three, get a qualified coach. And then, as Bob pointed out, who was in the audience, always have your first fly zipped up, you know, or something like that. So now you're recapping, but then the Q and A becomes like the fourth point and it's done in levity or to make a point. So if there was a. Again, a funny moment, call back to the funny moment. If there was a poignant question or a poignant moment, call back to that. And then go into your close. So that makes it a nice, strong structure. But again, don't have two or three points. Now, you said one, you deliver one, you know, you might recap, and then that one. But do not open up another open loop, if you will. Yeah.

Hey, man, this has been so much fun sharing this. Like I said, the one tip I would say on that is if you can find a way to make your last question segue smoothly to your last point, it'll seem as if a Q and A was planned. And if you can do that, man, it's an act of professionalism. And again, the audience gets all the value in the world. This has been good, Darren. I have so Many notes here.

What do we got for keepers, Mark?

Well, I won't give too many, but I'm going to give a few right here. And I tell you what, I didn't know this one, but your Q and A is really a learning opportunity for you because your audience might have questions are actually telling you things. You'll see what impact you have on them. You'll also see what open loops you left behind for them to ask the question. As you said, you may think you covered it, but the question tells you you didn't cover it comprehensively enough. That's wonderful. I love this line. Give grace, but not power. Give grace to the heckler, but not power. You don't want to surrender your power or control.

That was pretty good. I don't even know where that came from.

I'm very impressed, Yaman.

Thank you. That one was divine. Go ahead.

Also, when you're in the audience and you make that eye contact with the individual to respond to their question, you're not just answering the question, you're answering the individual. And bear in mind that individual is a representative of your entire audience. Don't take that piece lightly, Keeper. For me, if you're in the audience doing Q and A, walk back to the platform as an indication that your Q and A time is coming to an end. And Darren likes this one. He says you can create the atmosphere of intimacy when you go out to the audience and talk with them face to face. One final Keeper. You want to get the first question slash, prime the pump. And if it doesn't come, you can create the first question by saying something like the question I get most frequently or one of the questions I'm always asked. And you can prime the pump yourself, create the flow of ideas, and have a wonderful Q and A session. Darren, I tell you, I had so much fun today talking about Q and A. I had no idea.

Who would have thought we could have filled up a whole hour just talking about Q and A.

Really, really good. I mean, there's so many good, good points here. And I hope those who are listening right now, when you do a Q and A, you take some of these ideas, use some of these keepers, and have a kick in Q and A session.

And Mark, I have a question for you. Why should they tune in next week?

Because with the Unforgettable Presentations podcast, if you miss a week, you miss a lot.

Yeah. And hope you join us next week because Mark and I are going to sit down with with Erin Gargan King and oh my gosh, she is A spitfire, delightful. She just threw on a Santa hat and we caught her in between things and it was just so much fun. She's one of my favorite presenters. Social media guru. I've heard a lot of social media speakers and none of them ever compelled me that I want you to coach me. And it's exactly what I did. I also love that hearing inside of her story why she wears sneakers and a dress. Like I love how that came about and it's a lesson for everyone.

Hey, it's gonna be so much fun. It's gonna be great. I want to thank you, Darren for letting me be a part of today's Q and A. I had no idea we had so many nuggets. So much gold here. And listen, people, come into next week. Week, tune in, don't miss anything. Because you know what? We want to make you even better. We want you to go from good to great. We want you to deliver unforgettable presentations.

Yes. And remember, when you do Q and A, there's a right way.

Make sure you subscribe to our show.

Remember to subscribe because if you miss a week, you miss a week a lot.

If you like this episode, please leave us a review. If you want to get more from Mark and Darren, check out Stagetime University where they provide experienced presenters a proven path and world class feedback. To become the speaker everyone is talking about, go to stagetimeuniversity.com join us next week if you're going to take the time to prepare a presentation. Presentation. Make it unforgettable.