How to Handle Difficult Questions?

Muhammad Ali Aqdas

CMS ID: 367627

School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NUST

LLB 111: English

Ma’am Sundas Munir

Assignment due date: 05-01-2022

We have all been in such situations where we were asked some puzzling questions in

presentations, office meetings, or from our parents, etc. and we answered them absurdly and then

regretted that later. These embarrassing moments can cost you your grades, your job, your

money, and even your spouse. So, we need to be very careful and precise in such situations. The

exemplary question for husbands from their wives is “Where were you last night?”. This is an

argument starter and a test that many men fail. These kinds of questions and conditions we are

discussing.

By focusing on the following points, you can deal with any situation.

 Listen carefully.

 Understand the real question.

 Brief Pause.

If you know the answer:

 Respond openly.

 Maintain your body gestures.

 Know when to stop.

If you do not know the answer:

 Confer to the specialist.

 “I will get back to you” response.

 Compliment the questioner.

Listen carefully:
 Listening is one of the most significant parts of the conversation. If you

have not carefully listened to the question, how could you answer? Some questions can give you

their answers by just listening to the questions. So, listen carefully and try to focus on the

‘actual’ question you need to answer. Sometimes we make simple things complicated and get

puzzled which makes us forget what we particularity needed to answer. Be calm and wait for

them to complete the question. If you didn’t listen to the question due to any hindrance, ask them

to repeat it.

Understand the real question:

Repeat the question in your head. Identify what is the person

trying to ask and what is the context. Try to think by the context. Find the point and logic of the

question. Get to the knowledge level of the person asking the question, it could be a teenager

asking something about the word sex or your boss asking why you were sleeping during duty

hours. So, it is important to keep in mind what information does the person in front has already.

After that, gather the information in your head and start making points. You need to be quick to

understand the question

Brief Pause:

A pause gives a good impression of the speaker generally that the person is

considering before saying anything but most importantly it buys you time to think and to recall

information. Moreover, it keeps your nerves stable. But pause should be brief otherwise it will

become awkward. During the pause show that you are thinking and focusing on the question. If

you already know the answer, be patient don’t be abrupt.

When you are aware of the question:

Respond openly:

Nothing to worry about if you are honest. Being truthful itself gives you

confidence. And if you are confident and honest you can convince anyone. You should also use

the phrase “to be quite honest” or “frankly” to make it look more cordial, genuine, and honest.

Let’s say you are in a job interview, be honest about your previous jobs and endeavors and why

you left that, did you have discord with the boss? Or your work was not appreciated? In case of a

college interview, you need to answer about your consistent low grades candidly. But keep in

mind you don’t need to tell everything if you are a representative of a company or possess such a

job that needs you to be diplomatic. You need to keep your plan of action hidden and reveal only

what is needed. Another example is if your supervisor asked you why the sale was lowest in the

previous month? Was it due to your negligence or you didn’t know how to maximize the sale?

This is a trap. You should answer it in the same way as Sir, we are analyzing the situation

thoroughly, but it seems like we were given an ineffective sale plan.

Maintain your body gestures:

The words we articulate are just a minute part of communication.

Confidence, posture, expressions, and gestures are significant parts of communication. When a

person is nervous or terrified you can guess their uneasiness from their body language. We

involuntarily give away our feelings and emotions. Talk to yourself in front of the mirror and

observe how many gestures you make unconsciously. Some people use their hands a lot while

talking. It also varies in culture, it is said that if you want Italians not to speak, tie their hands

because they use their hands a lot while talking. So, if you are sitting on a chair keep your back
straight, shoulders relaxed, clasp your hands in your lap. You can also emulate the posture of the

person in front. Do not fidget in serious situations it is a sign of nervousness. Face expression is

also a key. When a person masters his expression, you cannot catch his emotions whether he is

happy or sad, agreed or denied, on what you said. While listening, nod. It shows that you are

focusing on the question. While answering, maintain your eye contact with the person you are

talking to and if necessary, keep a smile. Don’t smile if the matter is serious.

Know when to stop:

The most important and most neglected point is not realizing when is

enough. Some people start speaking and they don’t stop and make it uninteresting. Your answer

should be brief and concise. Eradicate repetitions from your answer. Give concrete and strong

points in your answer and remain to the point. You need to know when to speak and when to

stop. Your points must be coherent with each other. It shows your authenticity. Be explicit when

need to be but don’t make it boring and difficult to understand for the listener.

When you are not aware of the question:

Confer to the specialist:

Sometimes you are asked a question outside your expertise. Let’s suppose

you are a finance expert, and someone asks you about the engineering or marketing stuff you

will have no idea about that. If the respective expert is present defer the question to him saying:

“Ali, you are the engineer” or say over to you”. If the respective expert is not present state that

you will consult with the expert about that. But you it should not be just to get rid of the
question, you should be honest about that. You may also skip the question for later and call the

expert to answer it at the end.

“I will get back to you” response:

If you are asked a question from your audience that you do not know

completely at that moment. You can write down the question on paper and make sure that the

audience saw, you are writing it. Then calmly reply “I will get back to you on this later”. But be

honest about that and meet them after speech, lunch, or break and present your views about what

he had asked. This shows that you care to answer them and take them seriously.

Compliment the questioner:

There are situations when someone from the audience asks

you a question you do not know about. In such a situation, you may compliment the questioner

with a smile and a nod or by saying, “you raised a good point” and you can reflect the question

to the audience by saying: “Does anyone has something to say about this?”. This will divert the

question to the audience. You will get a variety of viewpoints from different people because

everyone wants to put forward their point of view. This will ease your duty of answering each

query.

Conclusion:

Handling the difficult question is easier when you have done your homework.

Listening and understanding the actual question is significant. But the key point to answer the

questioner is self-confidence. Make firm eye contact with the questioner and respond
confidently. Be coherent and try to be honest. The answer should be convincing. Give parallel

answers or defer to the expert if you do not know the answer and do not forget to compliment the

questioner. Be brief and specific and go into detail only when necessary.