Answer tough questions with poise and confidence ????♀?

Welcome to Quick Confidence! This weekly letter delivers a spritz of stories, tips and simple actions that will build your confidence and your power. Each quick tip bolsters confidence in your body, mind, and relationships so you can lead yourself and others to greatness.?

I’ll never forget it:

Watching actress Anne Hathaway adeptly handle a media interview. She was on an international tour to promote the film, Les Miserables.?

From the start of one particular Q&A, the NBC TODAY's Matt Lauer kept bringing the conversation back to Anne’s recent (and embarrassing) wardrobe malfunction.?

Yikes! ??

Not only did Anne control the interview with finesse, steering away from Matt’s topic of conversation, she was widely praised after the fact — and he was called out for disrespectful behavior.

While you may or may not find yourself being interviewed on national television, we can all learn from Anne. See, Anne expected curveball questions. She anticipated and clearly prepared for them. The great thing here is that you can too.

Being ready for challenging conversations and tough questions – whether in job interviews or high-stakes meetings – matters. Not only do your answers in these moments cement your reputation as a leader, they also forge your own self-confidence in a powerful way.

Here are the secrets I’ve learned from media training and from acting as a spokesperson more than once. Use these tips to power-up your communication to become a better leader!

Quick Confidence Tips to Power-up your Communication:

1. Embodied: Never repeat a negative premise or question. Just because someone asks you a question does not mean you need to approve or authorize it. That’s why if someone says to you, “Is it true you have doubts about the new leadership?” you should not repeat the negative framing. First of all, this question may be taking you far off track from the message you actually want to share. Second, by repeating back a negative statement, you can actually be quoted as saying something you don’t mean! Instead, you choose the framing. For example, you could say, “Here’s how I actually view leadership and [add more detail],” or “I don’t agree with that stance. Here’s what I think...”
2. Mindset: Decide that you can steer any conversation. When you’re asked a tough or diminishing question, commit to the belief that you can actively guide that conversation in a direction that respects your boundaries. No one is owed or entitled to information, and it’s up to you to decide what is shared and how. After you accept this fact, make friends with the concept of bridging. This means instead of answering a trivial, negative or disrespectful question, you make a bridge to what you do want to share. For example, if someone is pushing for your take on a silly rumor, you could say “Here’s the real issue in front of us,” or “What matters most in this situation is X…” or “Actually in this context, I should note X….” This guides the conversation to the more meaningful issue at hand.
3. Interpersonal: Don’t speak for others. Across your career, you may be asked to weigh in about someone else’s situation, but I’d encourage you to find the confidence not to take the bait. Not only can you inadvertently erase or diminish the actual experience of the person you’re speculating about, you can easily get in trouble if your comments are taken out of context. Let’s say someone says to you, “You must be shocked by your competitor’s collapse.” You can simply say, “I’ll let X person comment on their own behalf, but what we’re focused on right now is Y.” The lesson is simple here, let the source speak for themselves!

Whether you get hit with a tough question in front of an audience, in an interview or while giving a presentation, keep these tips at hand.?

And know this: it helps to practice! Recruit some friends and practice lobbing tough questions at each other. After a few rounds of responding with these tips, you’ll be amazed how effortless they are. This is a terrific way to build your confidence before a high-stakes situation. (Plus, it’s a fun game to play with friends!)

Remember: the more difficult questions you answer with poise, the more confident and reputable you'll be as a leader.?

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