How to answer when a tough question puts you on the spot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an excellent article by Allison Shapira at the Harvard Business Review on December 19, 2022 titled When a tough question puts you on the spot. She advises you to:

 

"Prepare in advance

Pause and breathe

Express empathy and honesty

Acknowledge the uncertainty"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similar advice comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on their crisis communication pocket card, which I blogged about on May 30, 2014 in a post titled Remembering what is important in crisis communication – the CDC CERC pocket or emergency card. The front of that card is shown above. (I also mentioned it in another post on March 11, 2020 titled How not to communicate during a real crisis like the coronavirus).

 

 And Allison also says to follow the acronym PREP when you need to take a stand:

 

"Point: State one main point

Reason: Provide a reason behind it

Example: Give an example that supports your point

Point: Before you start rambling, re-state your main point"

 

The Table Topics section of a Toastmasters Club meeting involves answering a question via a one-to-two-minute impromptu speech, and Allison’s advice applies there. Table Topics also is discussed by Peggy Beach in an article titled Spontaneous Speaking which can be found in the October 2020 issue of the Toastmaster magazine.   

 

My cartoon was adapted from this one at Wikimedia Commons.