Why go to all the trouble of preparing a speech when you can just take questions?  I’ve been asked that question many times by executives I’ve worked with that aren’t comfortable with the idea of all that focus on themselves, or the work involved in getting a speech ready, or simply can’t think of anything particularly earth-shattering to say.

If you’re not sure what you want to say, Q&A can seem like a very good idea.

That’s precisely when you should resist it most strongly.  The basic problem with Q&A is that you’re letting other people set the agenda.  You’re not in control.  Of course, you can decide not to answer the question, but that can make you look like you’re hiding something, or unprepared, or weak, and so on.  So you’re stuck, on the whole, with whatever’s asked, and you just have to do the best you can answering whatever comes up.

Moreover, while many executives believe that they’re better in spontaneous answers to unscripted questions, that format raises the odds that they’ll say things they shouldn’t.  If the press is present, there’s the risk of making news unfortunately and unnecessarily.

In addition, the whole presentation may end on a down note despite the best efforts of everyone involved if the last question is something like, “So, tell us about that corruption scandal!”  But even when the questions are positive and the executive is on message, spontaneous answers tend to be sloppy.  It’s rare the executive who doesn’t ramble a bit when asked a question she likes on a subject with which she’s familiar.  Executives, like just about everyone else, enjoy displaying expertise.

In short, Q&A is a crapshoot.

But there’s a deeper problem with Q&A – and this goes for the fifteen minutes at the end of a speech that’s typically devoted to Q&A as well as to an entire Q&A session.  That is it’s almost impossible to tell a coherent story through questions.  And because getting information through the ear is a very inefficient way to get (and retain) information, you give up the chance to tell a good story that your audience can remember, and your audience gives up any hope of getting something substantive out of the talk.

People remember the last thing they hear, if they remember anything, so having Q&A at the end of a talk ensures that the worst, most incoherent bit is what they’ll be struggling to remember.

So my recommendation is to take questions as they come up, or at least take them about three-quarters of the way through a talk, saving a stirring bit of concluding rhetoric for the end.  That way, you’ll at least give the audience something reasonable to remember.

All that said, there are still a number of strategies for handling Q&A that can make it better.

Control the potential damage  

Get prepared.  Undergo a mock interview, and have your helpers ask you the most difficult questions you can work up.  Get grilled relentlessly by someone who really knows your business, and the actual event will seem easy by comparison.

Practice spontaneous speaking.  The way to give a coherent answer off the cuff is to think for a moment, get a headline response, state it, then give a few details or supporting arguments, then repeat the headline.  If you train yourself to speak in this way, you are less likely to go off message, lost in the thickets of your own rhetorical mysteries and excesses.  Remember:  headline — supporting points — headline.  That’s all.

Get videotaped for help with body language.  The biggest giveaway is often not a word, but a defensive gesture.  When you’re taking on difficult subjects, you need to practice that open, clear, frank non-verbal behavior.  I’ve seen many a speaker ruin a good answer with suddenly crossed arms or a scowl at the wrong moment.

Next time:  how to handle hecklers and other Q and A mysteries.