Make firm eye contact with your opponent. Tear off your clothes, preferably with one seamless movement. Bare your teeth, and begin to pound your chest furiously with one fist, while reaching for your axe with the other. If one of your lieutenants is close by, signal for a surprise attack. If this is not possible, yell obscenities about your opponent's ancestors, then charge them. Should you survive, display your adversary's head outside your village, burn his to the ground, and sell his people to the Romans.

Recognise the question & challenge - thank the individual for raising the challenge. Unpack it and diffuse it directly and unemotionally if you can; sometimes big challenges are complex so suggest that you are happy to explore 1-2-1 after the session. Accept that there are always different viewpoints, opinions and priorities. It’s okay not to share the same position. If it’s a personal attack, bring it back to the professional issue or subject matter. Be nice - engage. It’s often the most disarming thing for more challenging audience members who might be looking for an argument. Say you’d be happy to follow up with more info on emails Never try to ‘silence’ questions

I think that's terrible advice. Ad hominem insults are the morally and intellectually lowest possible way to attack an adversary. Can't take apart the argument, so you attack the person of the speaker- that's just cheap. Avoiding to call it out just sanctions this type of behaviour. Even worse, some dirt always sticks- so unless you address it head on, your 'professional conduct' will still leave you damaged. 'Oh she acted so *professional* when she was called a naive, young inexperienced chicken' no one said EVER. Answer will depend on context but calling it out as such- worth reading up on rhetorics- and conclude that people apparently had nothing left but to descend to the lowest form of rhetorical wit which surely validated your point