Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for today's lesson on handling questions during your presentation.
Have you ever delivered a presentation to a quiet and happy audience that accepts everything you say and applauds at the end?
Probably not.
It doesn't matter whether you're presenting to a possible client at a staff meeting, to a group of senior executives or during a professional development event.
Your audience will likely ask you questions throughout your presentation.
No matter how well you prepare, you're going to have to think on your feet.
That means you'll have to step outside what you've rehearsed and deal with the questions as they come.
You might know the answer, but then again you might not.
The question might be about something you plan to talk about, but it might not.
Your presentation will succeed or fail not just on how pretty your PowerPoint slides are, but on how well you handle the audience and their questions.
And that's what we're looking at in this lesson.
The techniques we'll hear today include clarifying a question, using a question to jump ahead in your presentation and evading a difficult question.
We'll also learn how to separate multiple questions into parts, as well as how to admit we don't know the answer to a question.
In the dialogue we'll rejoin the publishing company, where Amy is giving a presentation to senior executives, including Brenda and Dennis.
Amy is explaining a potential overseas partnership with two Korean companies.
Brenda and Dennis are asking her plenty of tough questions.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What exactly is Brenda worried about at the start of the dialogue?
2.
How does Amy respond to Dennis' question about licensing rights and terms?
3.
Which question does Amy say she doesn't have enough information to answer?
And I have to say, Songbooks and Han Media are both really excited about the possibilities here.
Okay, Amy.
I think I understand Han Media's ideas for our web presence.
But I'm still not sure about this whole thing.
We want to appeal to a new market, but don't we run the risk of losing control of our identity with overseas developers?
So Brenda, it sounds like you're asking how do we make sure our branding is consistent in a new market?
Exactly.
Well, I should point out that Han Media is not exactly green.
They've done the same kind of web project for a toy company out in L.A.
They've got American-trained developers who speak good English.
Well, I'm less concerned about this image issue.
What I want to know about is how the deal works.
I mean, what kind of licensing rights and terms are they looking for?
Okay, so let me jump ahead here and talk about the arrangement.
So Han Media will manage the web presence and their designers will join forces with our merchandising team.
Han will pay us a licensing fee and gain exclusive Korean rights.
Whoa, Amy.
I don't really get it.
Can somebody tell me how Han Media makes money in all this?
Well, Han Media has a business model that works for them and they clearly see this as a good business opportunity.
And I really think that with a great digital partner, the sky's the limit for us.
Okay, could you put that into dollar terms for us?
And just how quickly can profits actually be realized?
Right.
Let's talk money.
You have two questions there.
So let me just talk about the dollars first.
I'll show you some revenue projections on this next slide.
This is a little on the conservative side.
We could actually position ourselves a bit higher in terms of pricing if we wanted.
And what kinds of margins are we talking about here?
I mean, how does the cost of doing business in Korea compare to, say, Japan or China?
To be perfectly honest, Dennis, I don't have enough information to answer that question right now.
Maybe we can revisit that in a later meeting.
Fair enough, but I'd like to stay on the topic of costs for a minute.
Yes.
Let's talk about what it will take to get this off the ground.
And I'll show you an estimate here.
Yeah.
Okay.
Have a look at this.
Now, let's go back through the dialogue and look at how Amy deals with Brenda and Dennis' questions.
And I have to say, Songbooks and Han Media are both really excited about the possibilities here.
Okay, Amy.
I think I understand Han Media's ideas for our web presence.
But I'm still not sure about this whole thing.
We want to appeal to a new market, but don't we run the risk of losing control of our identity with overseas developers?
We join the presentation after Amy has outlined how the partnership with the two Korean companies will work.
Brenda responds with, OK, Amy, and says she thinks she understands.
Using that word think before the word understand shows that we might not actually understand perfectly.
Then, Brenda explains that she's not even sure about the general idea.
Brenda uses a negative question to ask Amy whether they might lose control over their identity with this partnership.
So, how does Amy respond to this question?
Well, it's not perfectly clear what Brenda means by losing control of their identity.
So Brenda, it sounds like you're asking how do we make sure our branding is consistent in a new market?
Before answering the question, Amy needs to make sure she understands it.
She does this by using a statement that sounds like a question.
And in that statement she rephrases Brenda's idea, changing losing control of identity to making sure branding is consistent.
Let's practice some more ways of clarifying a question during a presentation.
So just to clarify, you're wondering where the company is located?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're asking about the likelihood of a security breach, right?
If I'm hearing you correctly, you want to know about anticipated revenues?
So, you'd like to know when the contractors can finish.
Is that right?
So, has Amy understood Brenda correctly?
Exactly.
Well, I should point out that Han Media is not exactly green.
They've done the same kind of web project for a toy company out in LA.
They've got American-trained developers who speak good English.
Brenda says exactly in response to Amy's clarification question and Amy responds to Brenda's concern about branding and identity by pointing out that Ham Media is not green.
In other words, they have previous experience in this area, and she continues by explaining a bit more about their experience and qualifications.
Now, it's Dennis' turn to cut in on Amy's presentation.
He's not concerned about the brand and image, but about how the actual deal is meant to work.
Dennis introduces this topic with the expression, what I want to know about is.
This is an indirect way to ask about something.
And to be extra clear, Dennis mentions exactly what he's curious about, licensing rights and terms.
Of course, it's hard to imagine that Amy hasn't planned to talk about the business arrangement.
In fact, Amy had this topic in her presentation. just not at this particular point.
So what does she do?
Okay, so let me jump ahead here and talk about the arrangement.
So Han Media will manage the web presence and their designers will join forces with our merchandising team.
Han will pay us a licensing fee and gain exclusive Korean rights.
Amy has taken the question and jumped ahead or skipped forward to the topic.
She explains that Ham Media will join forces or cooperate with their company's merchandising team and pay a licensing fee for rights in Korea.
Amy had planned to talk about these ideas, just not at this point in the presentation.
But Dennis has asked the question, so it's a perfect time to discuss the idea.
In most cases, the best time to answer a question is when someone asks it, even if it puts your presentation out of order.
Now let's run through some other ways to use a question to jump ahead in a presentation.
I think that's an important question, so let's skip ahead to the terms of the deal.
How are our products doing?
Well, let me show you a few slides here that will help explain.
I was going to address that issue in the second half, but let's have a look now since it's come up.
Great question.
So let's tackle item 6 on the outline now because it's related to what you've asked about.
So, Amy has started explaining the business arrangement, but something doesn't make sense to Dennis.
Whoa, Amy.
I don't really get it.
Can somebody tell me how Han Media makes money in all this?
Dennis doesn't get it or understand.
He wants to see how the deal makes sense and money for Han Media.
In this case, Amy doesn't have a perfect answer.
It's a difficult question for her.
So let's hear how she deals with it.
Well, Han Media has a business model that works for them and they clearly see this as a good business opportunity.
And I really think that with a great digital partner, the sky's the limit for us.
Has Amy actually answered the question?
Has she explained how Han Media will make money?
No, she hasn't, because she can't.
She doesn't really know the answer.
And when we don't know, sometimes it's best to evade or avoid the question.
Amy does this by simply stating that Han Media has a business model that works and sees the partnership as an opportunity.
That simply suggests that they can make money without saying how.
Amy then brings the issue back to their company, saying that with a great partner, the sky's the limit.
We use this expression to mean that an opportunity has great potential.
Amy has successfully evaded Dennis' difficult question.
Evading tough questions is an important skill, so let's practice some more examples.
Yes, good question, and perhaps we'll have time to come to it later.
Well, I think we'll have to wait and see about that.
Now let's move on.
I think it's worth looking into that issue further.
But for now, let's talk about personnel.
Yes well, the legal side of things is pretty complicated and I'll have to leave that to the experts.
Amy has said, the sky's the limit, which emphasizes potential.
But Brenda needs more specific information.
Okay, could you put that into dollar terms for us?
And just how quickly can profits actually be realized?
Brenda wants Amy to put it in dollar terms, which means to say more exactly how much money is at stake.
In fact, Brenda asks another question as well about how quickly the partnership will become profitable.
What do you do when you've got two questions to deal with?
Let's listen to how Amy does it.
Right.
Let's talk money.
You have two questions there.
So let me just talk about the dollars first.
I'll show you some revenue projections on this next slide.
This is a little on the conservative side.
We could actually position ourselves a bit higher in terms of pricing if we wanted.
Notice how Amy immediately accepts Brenda's question by saying, right, let's talk money.
She doesn't hesitate or get confused.
She takes the questions and handles them confidently.
In this case, Amy is very clear about the fact that Brenda has two questions and she states very clearly that she'll talk about the dollars first.
Amy then quickly finds the part of her presentation that shows revenue projections, or the revenue that they predict they will earn.
She makes sure to point out that the projections are on the conservative side.
In other words, they are at the low end of the scale.
In fact, they could very well see higher profits.
Amy has taken Brenda's questions, acknowledged that there are two of them and then dealt with the first question first.
It's a good idea to separate multiple questions into parts, so let's hear some more examples of how to do this.
I'll deal with those questions one at a time.
First, you asked about design.
You've raised three important issues, and I'd like to deal with each separately.
So you're asking about delivery problems and inventory controls.
Let's start with the delivery problems.
Those are both great questions, and let me talk first about the new tracking system.
Now, let's get back to the dialogue, as Dennis wants to ask a bit more about the potential profits.
And what kinds of margins are we talking about here?
I mean, how does the cost of doing business in Korea compare to, say, Japan or China?
Dennis wants to know about margins, which is the difference between a product's selling price and how much it costs to make.
Profit, in other words.
More specifically, Dennis asks how the margins in Korea compare to other countries in East Asia.
This is a question that Amy doesn't know the answer to.
Earlier, we learned how to evade a difficult question.
But that's not what Amy does this time.
To be perfectly honest, Dennis, I don't have enough information to answer that question right now.
Maybe we can revisit that in a later meeting.
Amy comes right out and admits that she doesn't know the answer.
She introduces this admission with, to be perfectly honest, which softens the idea a little.
And she doesn't exactly say, I don't know.
Instead, she says she doesn't have enough information right now.
In other words, she could find the information and answer the question, which is why she suggests they revisit the issue later or look at it again.
You may not be able to answer every question that's thrown your way, and in many cases it's best just to admit you don't know the answer.
Of course, it's always best to use softening language or to show that you could find the answer, as you can hear in these examples.
Frankly, Tom, I'm not exactly sure what the cost is.
That's a good question, but I don't have the answer for you right now.
I'm sorry, but I'll have to get back to you on that when I have the answer.
I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I will certainly find out for you.
Now, let's see how the dialogue ends.
Fair enough, but I'd like to stay on the topic of costs for a minute.
Yes, let's talk about what it will take to get this off the ground.
And I'll show you an estimate here.
Yeah, okay, have a look at this.
Brenda says, fair enough, to show she accepts that Amy couldn't answer a question.
But she still wants to talk about costs.
It doesn't sound like a question, but it's a topic that Brenda wants to know about.
And Amy's ready.
You can hear how she confidently says yes and is eager to discuss the money required to get this off the ground or start up the new project.
Now, let's practice some of the language we've learned for clarifying a question.
First, you'll hear a question.
Then, you'll hear a prompt.
Use the words in the prompt to clarify the question.
For example, if you hear... What do you think we can do here in terms of positioning?
To clarify mean what pricing you can say.
Just to clarify.
You mean what we can do in terms of pricing.
We'll play an example answer after each question.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Is this product line actually performing well for us?
Answer.
If I understand you correctly, you're asking about sales figures?
How could we change things up on the recruiting side of things?
So, like to know, change, hiring process Answer.
So you'd like to know how we might change the hiring process.
Isn't the timeline a bit too aggressive considering our staffing issues?
To be clear, enough people.
Meet deadlines.
Answer.
To be clear, do we actually have enough people to meet the deadlines?
What are we looking at in terms of a wrap-up date on this project?
What.
Asking.
When.
Completely finished.
Answer.
So what you're asking is, when will everything be completely finished?
Now, let's practice useful vocabulary and idioms.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear At this point, I think we should jump to the issue of taxes, you can say At this point, I think we should jump ahead to the issue of taxes.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
For us.
Answer.
I like the idea, but could you put it into dollar terms for us?
If we cut the pension plan, we run the of losing good employees.
Answer.
If we cut the pension plan, we run the risk of losing good employees.
To be perfectly... I don't know the answer to that question.
Answer.
To be perfectly honest, I don't know the answer to that question.
I'm really excited to get this new project off the ground.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our two-part series about answering questions during a presentation.
We've learned how to clarify a question, evade a difficult question and admit we don't know the answer to a question.
We've also learned how to use a question to jump ahead in a presentation and how to separate multiple questions into parts.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
