SouFBP - Difficult Questions - The MASTER File

HANDLING
DIFFICULT
QUESTIONS
The Master
File
HANDLING DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
The Master File
Frustrating Questions
Unknown Answer
Doubts on Accuracy
Different Expectations
Argument or Disagrement
Boomerang Technique
Handling
Difficult Questions
Here we
go
again!
We’ve all known

these
questions
that don’t
deserve
answers
And even if your

reflex will be to
roll your eyes and
swear
The easiest for

you and your
presentation is to
do the following
Already answered
questions
In a formal presentation, just

answer again, don’t mention it
was already answered
In an informal setup, you can be

direct and say kindly that the it
was already addressed
If you’re nice, you’ll summarize
again
Banal questions
Just answer the question, very briefly
And if you want to win points, add the

following
“I would even go one step further by

asking if...”
Irrelevant or off-track
questions
Just answer the question, it

might be relevant to them
Create a Parking and answer

later
Politely say that the question

doesn’t fit the context
That’s how you

stay in the fight
Unknown Answer
Handling
Difficult Questions
Unknown Answer
We’ve all known

these
questions
that you can’t
answer directly
Unknown Answer
And even if
you’re tempted
to temporize
Unknown Answer
The easiest for

you and your
presentation is to
do the following
Unknown Answer
You don’t know the

answer?
Admit it: no one will kill you for saying
“I don’t know”
Say you’ll be glad to get back to them

with an answer at a later time
Direct the questioner to a resource

where he can find the answer
Use the boomerang (will detail this

technique at the end of this guide)
Unknown Answer
Mini victory
You win some time
You gain influence if

you respect your
promise to come back
You don’t carry a wrong

answer with you during
the presentation
Unknown Answer
You’re only allowed

1-2 “I don’t know”
techniques per
presentation so
be prepared
Doubts on Accuracy
Handling
Difficult Questions
Doubts on
Data Accuracy
Doubts on Accuracy
All Finance
Professionals
have experienced
this
Doubts on Accuracy
“Your data
is wrong !”
Doubts on Accuracy
What do
you do?
Doubts on Accuracy
Anticipate
Before the presentation, discover the

different reports used in the company
Know your audience and where they

work
You’ll know the different

definitions
You’ll understand the filters and

the differences with your data
Doubts on Accuracy
Be confident
Your data is correct so don’t start to

hesitate and stutter
Enumerate, without expanding, on
the source
the filters used
the other usage (i.e. official report)

Doubts on Accuracy
Don’t start a battle
Keep your cool: no one is right or

wrong
Don’t contradict the asker frontally
Use an “I don’t know” technique and

say you’ll come back on this offline
Doubts on Accuracy
You have to be
sure of your data
Else, you lose your

credibility and the rest
of your presentation
Handling
Difficult Questions
Different
expectations
You arrive at the

conclusion of the
best presentation
of your life
and then….
“This is not what

I expected!
I thought we
would see…”
What do
you do?
Prepare
Before the presentation, send

the agenda upfront
Request attendees to send

questions if something is not
clear
Start the presentation by a
briefing on the angle you took for
your topic
Close the door
Use your agenda to avoid

deflating the view your
presented
Try isolating the person by

asking the rest of the audience if
they feel the same
Beware of who the asker is!
If this is an “important” person,
jump to next page
Slightly re-open the

door
Ask the interrupter why he think his
view of the topic matters and if he has
an opinion on this
If the topic is easy, offer a quick view

on the proposed topic
If it requires more work, offer to come

back on this at another time, either in
a new presentation or offline
Argument or Disagreement
Handling
Difficult Questions
Argument or
Disagreement
And you thought

everybody
would agree
with you?
“Sorry but that’s

bullsh*t!
I think we
should…”
What do
you do?
Don’t get into lenghty

arguments
It saps your credibility
It annoys the rest of the

audience
Use the boomerang
Say you’ll be glad to talk about it

after the presentation and move
to the next question
Marginalize the questioner by
involving the audience
“Does anyone want to offer another
perspective on this?”
“Who wants to react on this?”
Whatever happens
Keep your cool

Easy
to say!
Boomerang Technique
Handling
Difficult Questions
Boomerang Technique
Here comes the

impossible
question that you
cannot or don’t
want
to answer
Boomerang Technique
There’s one thing

you can do
Simply
throw it back
Boomerang Technique
You can do it in
4 directions
Boomerang Technique
Inside the room Outside the room
Boomerang to Boomerang to
asker future
Boomerang to Boomerang to
audience Expert
Boomerang Technique
Boomerang to asker
Throw the question back to the one

who just asked it
Ask him to answer his own question
“Since you ask the question, I am sure

you must have your own opinion
about it….”
“What do YOU think about….”

Boomerang Technique
Boomerang to audience
Open the question to the audience
Repeat the question looking at the

audience and inviting them
“Who wants to answer this

question?”
“Does anyone want to provide some

thoughts?”
Boomerang Technique
Boomerang to expert
Redirect the question to somebody

recognized as an expert on the topic
Just say politely
“Why don’t you ask X? I am sure he

must know…”
“That’s more a question for X”

Boomerang Technique
Boomerang to future
Question cannot currently be

answered with certainty
Postpone the question to a reasonable

horizon
“In X weeks, we should know more
about…”
“There’s too much uncertainty, I can’t

give you definite answer. Let’s see
that in X months”
Boomerang Technique
Boomerang technique
is a last resort
Use only once in a

presentation
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HANDLING

We’ve all known

And even if your

The easiest for

In a formal presentation, just

In an informal setup, you can be

Just answer the question, very briefly

And if you want to win points, add the

“I would even go one step further by

Just answer the question, it

Create a Parking and answer

Politely say that the question

That’s how you

We’ve all known

The easiest for

You don’t know the

Say you’ll be glad to get back to them

Direct the questioner to a resource

Use the boomerang (will detail this

You gain influence if

You don’t carry a wrong

You’re only allowed

Before the presentation, discover the

Know your audience and where they

You’ll know the different

You’ll understand the filters and

Your data is correct so don’t start to

Enumerate, without expanding, on

the filters used

the other usage (i.e. official report)

Don’t start a battle

Keep your cool: no one is right or

Don’t contradict the asker frontally

Use an “I don’t know” technique and

Else, you lose your

You arrive at the

“This is not what

Before the presentation, send

Request attendees to send

Close the door

Use your agenda to avoid

Try isolating the person by

Slightly re-open the

If the topic is easy, offer a quick view

If it requires more work, offer to come

And you thought

“Sorry but that’s

Don’t get into lenghty

It saps your credibility

It annoys the rest of the

Use the boomerang

Say you’ll be glad to talk about it

Keep your cool

Here comes the

There’s one thing

Inside the room Outside the room

Throw the question back to the one

Ask him to answer his own question

“Since you ask the question, I am sure

“What do YOU think about….”

Open the question to the audience

Repeat the question looking at the