How to handle questions with confidence as a Conference Speaker
Conference speakers tend to be confident about their talk. They know what’s going to happen. It’s often the questions that unsettle them. In this article, John Scarrott, Communications Skills Trainer and Coach, and AAE trainer, shares his experience and suggests two strategies for getting comfortable around questions.
I experienced this at the AAE's Associations World Congress in 2019. I’d answered one question reasonably well. Then came one I genuinely didn’t know how to answer. I felt the waves of ‘dry mouth, warm face, ground opening up’ beginning to wash over me. And then, from somewhere, I realised, ‘Hey, I’m not on my own. There’s a room full of expertise right here. And I asked them what they thought.
One person offered a perspective, another built on it, a third refined it. I added a summary and a thought of my own. The energy shifted - it stopped being a test of me and became shared thinking.
How did this happen? And how can you make it happen for you?
I’m currently studying Transactional Analysis, and it has a much to offer anyone wanting to better understand how they can communicate well. As part of the course, I’ve been learning about Eric Berne’s Imagoes. Imagoes are a way to map the psychological shape of a group. And how that plays out in reality. I found an application for it when it comes to how to perform well in the Question-and-Answer part of a conference session.
Firstly, picture the room while you’re speaking. You’re at the front. Slightly elevated. Distinct. Leader. Expert. Guide. The “above and apart” stance works here. It helps the audience listen.
Now picture the room when Q&A begins. The lights come up. The mic is passed around. Someone asks a question. Everyone, including you, is hearing it for the first time. The shape of the room has changed. But many speakers don’t change with it. They try to answer from the same “expert above” position. And that’s where the tension comes from. The talk works from above. The Q& A works better from the side.
When you move alongside, something relaxes. You are not on your own. You and your audience become collaborators. By the end of your presentation, the audience is ready to pop. They have thoughts, refinements, counter-examples. Instead of defending your expertise, invite theirs.
Here are two practical ways to help you move from above to alongside:
1. Rehearse the questions, not just the talk.
- Go one ring out. Where are the gaps? What might a sceptic ask?
- Practise some ways of inviting your audience in and find the options that work for you
- “That’s a big question... I’d welcome a range of views.”
- “We’re still working on that. Here’s what we know so far.”
- “I’m not sure yet. Who’d like to start us off?”
This is not ducking the issue. It’s using facilitation to engage all the brains in the room.
2. Change your physical position for the Question part.
If you can, step off the stage. Move closer to the audience and level with them.
This says “we’re thinking together now”.
The presentation needs you to be clear and distinct. The Q& A needs you to be curious and alongside. When your stance matches the moment, questions stop feeling like threats.
They become what they were meant to be:
A room full of people thinking.
And that’s much lighter to carry.
Thanks for reading, and happy conference speaking.
John Scarrott is our partner trainer and coach specialising in the areas of conference chairing, speaking and facilitation as well as chairing and participating in committee meetings. We offer bespoke training workshops to associations that want to support volunteers, members and speakers to perform well at their events and meetings.
