Want to ace any Q&A? This technique can help

Dealing successfully with Q&As has become central to today’s business environment. Whether you’re addressing concerns raised by team members, responding to an interviewer in your job search, or fielding questions from shareholders at your annual meeting, answering questions is an essential skill.



If you get it right, you’ll shine in all these situations. If you get it wrong, you’ll lose the confidence of your audience. Or, if you’re a job seeker, you may miss out on that next-level position.



How do you master Q&A and sound confident? Follow this four-step process for answering any question. This template will enable you to be persuasive and charm your audience.



Here are the steps for creating a great answer:



Step 1: Connect with the questioner



Begin by connecting with the person who asked the question. To do this successfully, take a moment to pause. This shows respect for the questioner by indicating that you are thinking about what was asked.



People tend to answer without pausing, and as a result, blurt out inappropriate or imprecise information. Or they use filler words like “um,” “ah,” or “that’s a good question.” Such expressions make them sound uncertain.



Listen to Steve Jobs when he’s answering a question at a Developers Conference. He pauses for a long time in silence. More than 10 seconds. It’s an effective move.



Connecting with the questioner involves something else: Responding positively in the opening words you use. You might say, “I’m glad you asked that.” Or “That’s something we think a lot about.” Even though Steve Jobs’ questioner was aggressive, hitting him with “Mr. Jobs, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jobs acknowledges that his questioner may have a point by beginning his answer with: “People like this gentleman are right in some areas.”



Step 2: Get to your point



The main purpose of an answer is to respond to the question, and this requires getting to your point. So avoid background information and wandering around the subject. Cut to the chase.



Your point or message should stand out as the main idea. In a job interview, for example, you might be asked, tell me why you’re the right person for this job. You answer: “I have the experience you are looking for.”



Deliver that message with a strong voice. Your audience should hear your statement as one that you believe in. (For more examples of great messages and how to deliver them see the chapter on Q&A in my book Impromptu, Leading in the Moment. )



Step 3: Develop it



Once you deliver your message, prove it with a series of supporting points. To develop your main idea choose one of the following:




The reasons that support your message.



The ways your message can be proven.



The situation and response that underlie your message.



The chronological steps that prove your message.




In short, step 3 will enable you to respond to a question with a well-developed answer. For example, if your boss asks you why you feel ready for a next-level job, give the reasons you believe that you are a strong candidate for a promotion. If you are talking to your team about implementing a strategy, and someone says “can you elaborate?” you might develop that idea by discussing the ways this can be done.



If you are a CEO and want to answer a question about why the company is laying off employees, you might take listeners through the chronological steps that have led to this decision.



How many proof points will you want to have? Anywhere between two and four.



Step 4: End with a call to action



The final part of a great answer is a call to action. You want your message to be acted upon, whether it’s you who will act upon it or those in your audience.



For example, suppose you are asked by an analyst, “can you explain your weak third quarter profits?” You might begin, “Thanks for asking that question.” Then comes your message: “It allows me to present the turnaround plans that are reshaping our company.” Next come your proof points. And then finally you can share your call to action: “Our team is fully committed to these plans, and I’m certain you’ll see our strong results by Q1 next year.”



Steve Jobs ends his answer with a great call to action: “What we need to do is support the team [that is burning the midnight oil at Apple] and see them through this, and write some damn good applications to support Apple in the market. . . . And I think we’re going to get there!”