Our Methodology
If confidence and clarity got you in a high-stakes meeting, it’s the ability to manage questions well that gets you back to the next one.
In the toolkit of communication skills, the inability to answer questions well can become a real vulnerability for a communicator. As leaders interact with communicators, they always gauge how well someone shows up. Style and presence matter, and clarity of messaging matters. But the ability to transfer knowledge through how questions are answered may matter the most.
Answering questions isn’t always easy. Questions are dynamic. They come from listeners, so you prepare for them the same way you prepare your storyline. You can anticipate about 60% of what will be asked if you consider the listeners’ perspective. But questions require real-time, in-the-moment content that means thinking on your feet and being as clear and focused as you were throughout the presentation.
This workshop introduces the art and intentional process of thinking on your feet and managing questions effectively. Participants learn SW&A’s three-step process for answering questions as well as the finer nuances of how to expand upon a question and lead a listener to your desired outcome.
Content – Most listeners give a communicator about 30 seconds to set a message and direction for their storyline. An effective communicator learns how to format ideas to frame a message and set the structure quickly to keep the listener(s) involved. We teach how to organize a storyline, create a compelling message and leverage stories to be sure sound bites are heard and remembered.
Style – Personal style, is presence, the ability to engage an individual or a group from the start of a conversation. An effective communicator comes across as confident and credible, conveying a sense of commitment to their topic and a personal interest in connecting the topic to each listener. The SW&A approach to style teaches the intentional choices communicators make to deliver on those impressions.
Situational – While the tools stay the same, the situations don’t. Every communicator thinks about their audience differently from those who interact with small groups to those who deliver keynote speeches. They think about outcomes differently, too. From meetings that generate discovery to recommendations that gain approval. That’s why the third dimension of our work applies the fundamentals to specific situations. It helps a communicator shift from competence in their skills to consistent outcomes in their communication.
