Stop Ending Your Speeches With "Are There Any Questions?"
There are times when you should not ask a question!
You are thinking, “Did I read that correctly?? Did the Blogger of LeadingWithQuestions.com really just say there are times when you shouldn’t ask a question?”
YES – He Did!
You are giving a great speech – superb opening – great stories – instantly implemental content.? ?So far your speech is a 10 out of 10!
Then you reach the end of your speech and ask your audience, “Are there any questions?” and you hear nothing but crickets – awkward silence and it doesn’t end – the deafening silence continues – no one raises their hands to ask a question – so you finally say, “Thank You Very Much!” and walk away from the podium.
Your incredibly well done speech ended with a nose-dive.? It crashed!? Your last impression was a “0” out of 10.? Yes, you shot yourself in the foot!? Yes, it was a self inflicted wound!
So what can you do differently?
Might you want to save your best story for the end?
Might you want to end with a terrific quote?
Or might you want to end with a different kind of question?
A bunch of years ago I was in the audience when I saw the speaker (I would tell you his name if I could remember – I do remember the speaker was a man) make incredible use of his cell phone and everyone’s cell phones in the audience.? Instead of asking everyone in the audience to turn off/silence/put away their cell phones, he asked everyone to get out their cell phones.? He then shared his number and asked everyone in the audience to text him their answer to a question.? ?He then shared 10-15 of their answers and then asked another question and shared 10-15 of their answers.
Once or twice more he repeated this process during his talk.? You could feel the audience engagement.? They were not just listening to a talk, they were participants in his presentation.
And near the end of his talk he did ask the audience a question!? No – he didn’t ask? “Are there any questions?”? Instead he asked them to again pull out their cell phones and share one thing they were going to implement as a result of his talk!
WOW!? He scored a 10 out of 10 from beginning to end!? Truthfully, I seldom come up with great new ways to do something!? But, I love to copy brilliance!? And I have been using what I observed that day in every “Leading With Questions” presentation I have done since!
??And now here is my question for you:? What are you going to be doing differently next time you give a speech/make a presentation??I'd love to hear!
Previously posted on LeadingWithQuestions.com and CareersInGovernment.com
Discover more insight on leading with questions at LeadingWithQuestions.com.
Community Engagement Specialist, Business Mentor, Leadership Development Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Business Pastor. Helping leaders craft and implement an "Engaged" team is my passion and joy!!!
2 天前Bob Tiede, what a wonderful way to further engagement!! Thanks for sharing!!????
Reducing Decision Fatigue and Overwhelm | Improving Workplace Critical Thinking | Managing Age Diversity | Leading a Hybrid Workplace | Self-paced Courses | Free Videos and Resources
2 天前Great suggestion, Bob
Director, Partner, Consultant at MacMann Berg, Author, MA Philosophy, Associate at Taos Institute
2 天前Good points, Bob ?? A possible solution: Always make room at the end of the speech/presentation for a 3 minute dialogue in pairs or around the table: ask: what are your most important takeaways or inspirations? And what questions trigger your curiousity? In my experience this always open the dialogue.
Director @ World Relief | Professor | Author
2 天前Bob, Thanks for sharing. When I was pastoring, I actually did this. However, I had a number on the bottom of the screen. I let everyone know that they could text their question to that number at any time during the message. After, I would take one or two, or a repeated question and answer it. Otherwise, I would answer the rest on my website during the week.
Fleet Instructional Technologist Nuclear | Driving Performance Improvement
2 天前Great approach!