Nailing the unscripted Q&A

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One scenario that makes many leaders nervous is the unscripted Q&A. Whether you're pitching your startup to investors, doing an AMA with employees, or giving an interview that will be shared with an audience, you can expect to field impromptu questions.

As a leader, you will be judged by your audience on your ability to respond with ease and confidence. How you handle a question you weren't anticipating can mean the difference between achieving your goals and missing the mark. The stakes are high.

The number one way to get better at improvising on the spot is to get more practice and experience. In the meantime, preparation helps a lot.

Here are a few of my favorite tactics for getting ready when you don't know exactly what questions you'll be asked to address.

1. Bring a clear point of view to the session. In many cases, such as a pitch or a presentation, you'll have an opportunity to share your perspective before the questions start. Being clear and targeted in your opening remarks will help set up the Q&A for success, especially if you can address what they're curious about upfront. Even if you won't have an opportunity to give opening remarks, come to the session with your top 3 messages in mind. In many cases, you can adapt those messages to reply to the questions as they come.
2. Know your audience. Understand their goals, concerns and hopes as much as possible. Get a handle on what they already know about you and your work, and what they don't. For instance, if you're a technical Founder / CEO delivering a fundraising pitch to investors, know that they care at least as much about your business projections as they do about your research.
3. Anticipate their questions. Write down a list of all the "hot topics" for this audience, and develop answers to questions that may stem from these. It may be helpful to brainstorm with a colleague, or someone who is familiar with the audience.
4. Bring a few go-to stories or examples that illustrate your messages. Even more convincing than scripted responses will be the examples and stories that bring your messages to life. If you're expecting a question about your company's strategy or purpose, come with short, specific, memorable examples, trends or stories that illustrate the narrative you're trying to tell.
5. Practice answering with a structure. One of the problems with unscripted Q&A is that people can tend to ramble and use filler words like "um" and "uh" as they answer the question while thinking aloud. To help you stay crisp and controlled, I recommend a formula that like this one that is flexible enough for you to adapt to any question.

Going into a unscripted Q&A can be scary because of the fear that you will lose control.

Even after all your preparation, you still might be concerned about getting an unanticipated question. Remember, you still have several ways to manage the situation.

• Pause to think before answering. No need to rush into an answer before you've given it some thought. Even 10-15 second delay might feel like an eternity to you, but it will seem completely normal to your audience.
• You can give a partial answer. You don't have to be 100% comprehensive when answering a question. Say what you know to be true, and what you believe, and why it's relevant. If there are any details you need to track down later, you can say that.
• You can always say you don't know. Not enough leaders use this option. And while it shouldn't be overused, you can always be honest and say you'll need to find out and report back. Always follow up if you do this.

Impromptu communications is an acquired skill for leaders. With preparation, practice and experience, you can improve your ability to connect with different audiences, feel more comfortable, and convey ease and confidence while improvising.

Thanks for being part of the C-Level Stories community. I welcome feedback and suggestions. Feel free to reach out to me. And hit subscribe to be notified when the next issue comes out.