No matter what your experience level might be, the three principles below can provide a helpful guide for answering questions from your audience. Put them together to form a response: A + B + C
A: Acknowledge the question
- Paraphrase the question
- Say something like “that’s a great question!” or “...interesting question”
- Ask the audience member to clarify their question if needed
B: Be honest
- If you don’t know, that’s ok, don’t pretend you do
C: Contribute something based on your knowledge
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Provide an answer that acknowledges what you do know and make an educated guess if needed
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Offer to look up the answer or explore areas for further research with the audience member afterwards
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If appropriate (e.g., if you are facilitating an activity or in a TA role), ask the audience what they think
Some Example Prompts
“That’s a great question! I’m not sure about the answer because it was beyond the scope of our project but if I had to speculate based on our research, I’d say …”
“Are you asking about …? That’s a really interesting point! Can we chat after the presentation, as I think this could be something interesting to explore?”
“Great question! Before I answer, what do people in the audience think (then provide a summary with your opinion added)?”