Last week I presented my "Speechwriting Jam Session" to 300 people who are involved in the creation of speeches at the United Nations.
It was fun and well-received, and as I told them, my "talk at the U.N." is something I will casually but persistently mention to my grandchildren, so that they can scratch their heads and think, "Maybe Gramps wasn't always so daft."
But the bigger the speaking platform, the faster the air goes out when you get to the airport and get a drink in your hand. And so you indulge in this sort of thing.
I don't really think that.
Well, I kind of do. At the Vital Speeches blog, I lay out a more rational argument for killing the Q&A. Here or over there, I'd love to talk more about this subject, with veterans of both ends of the post-speech Q&A.
1. The thought of you taping yourself while in the airport bar makes me giggle.
2. Your rant reminds of Kissinger’s great prelude to Q&A sessions (which is probably quite familiar to you): “Does anyone have any questions for my answers?”
Yes, I love that Kissinger line, and I’m going to start to use it in my talks. Thanks for the reminder.
In my MBA program I gave a presentation about gender quotas in the government systems of developing countries. I went on and on about how gender quotas are great for the country as a whole, and how gender quotas help ensure rights for women, etc etc…
The first question I got during Q&A was, “can you please explain what a gender quota is?”
Umm………..
Hilarious. And that’s part of the problem. The speaker, especially if he or she is any good, has just overwhelmed the audience with ideas and a new perspective.
To expect the audience to ask lots of worthy questions right after the talk … well, in my experience, it just doesn’t happen.
But because the Q&A is such a rigid convention, audience members feel the speaker will feel like a failure if a lively exchange doesn’t take place. They feel they have to ask questions just to be polite. So often, they ask their dumb questions out of kindness.
Which is why I’m saying: There’s got to be a better way.
So what would you suggest for an Employee Town Hall where the execs speak to the group then open up for Q&A? I ask this because we’re flying out Sunday to go to our facilities and conduct these.
Well generally, I think employee town halls are overrated, largely because of many of the reasons enumerated above (and on my blog over at Vital Speeches).
Town halls are largely symbolic events, where the execs’ WILLINGNESS to stand and listen and the employees’ WILLINGNESS to ask questions is a lot more important than the actual content of the Qs and As.
Because of this, what I’d suggest is what I always suggest. Tell the execs that any introductory remarks they make should be ones that they’d ONLY share in this format. Employees can get the financials or a strategy update ahead of the meeting (and they should) and other company information from every other communication vehicle.
The unique opportunity here is to give them a chance to talk about what’s on their minds, and that’s what the entire session should be given over to.
If you have the exec talk smartly and broadly for 30 minutes and have employees sound comparatively dumb and selfish for another 30, you’ll have the typical speech/Q&A and the typical town hall meeting, which makes everybody feel rotten.
I give about 40 speeches a year, give or take. My strategy is to pack so much information into the presentation that I run just late enough so that there’s no time for Q&A, but not late enough to disrupt the rest of the day.
Why? Because questions fall into one of three categories:
1. Stuff that ONLY the person asking cares about, which is not fair to the rest of the audience.
2. Stuff that is WAY too complicated to answer in 30 minutes or less, and you usually have about two minutes to answer a question in a Q&A.
3. Stuff that you can answer quickly, with a nice, concise, helpful answer.
The problem is, those last questions represent about 5 percent of the total.
Of course, the other problem is that every conference planner wants you to “Leave time for questions, they love questions.”
So I pack so much information in that nobody misses the Q&A (I hope) and then encourage people to reach out to me afterwards, via e-mail or at the event itself, with questions.
It seems to work.
Now . . . Eileen: the Town Hall. That’s an entirely different ball game. Those things live or die by the Q&A. It’s the most essential part of the event.
But in that case, I think it’s important to gather the questions in advance, choose the ones that are the hottest topics, most relevant to the audience, etc., etc., and get those answered first. Then throw it open to any brave souls who want to ask a question live.
Steve C.
I give about 40 speeches a year, give or take. My strategy is to pack so much information into the presentation that I run just late enough so that there’s no time for Q&A, but not late enough to disrupt the rest of the day.
Why? Because questions fall into one of three categories:
1. Stuff that ONLY the person asking cares about, which is not fair to the rest of the audience.
2. Stuff that is WAY too complicated to answer in 30 minutes or less, and you usually have about two minutes to answer a question in a Q&A.
3. Stuff that you can answer quickly, with a nice, concise, helpful answer.
The problem is, those last questions represent about 5 percent of the total.
Of course, the other problem is that every conference planner wants you to “Leave time for questions, they love questions.”
So I pack so much information in that nobody misses the Q&A (I hope) and then encourage people to reach out to me afterwards, via e-mail or at the event itself, with questions.
It seems to work.
Now . . . Eileen: the Town Hall. That’s an entirely different ball game. Those things live or die by the Q&A. It’s the most essential part of the event.
But in that case, I think it’s important to gather the questions in advance, choose the ones that are the hottest topics, most relevant to the audience, etc., etc., and get those answered first. Then throw it open to any brave souls who want to ask a question live.
Steve C.
I give about 40 speeches a year, give or take. My strategy is to pack so much information into the presentation that I run just late enough so that there’s no time for Q&A, but not late enough to disrupt the rest of the day.
Why? Because questions fall into one of three categories:
1. Stuff that ONLY the person asking cares about, which is not fair to the rest of the audience.
2. Stuff that is WAY too complicated to answer in 30 minutes or less, and you usually have about two minutes to answer a question in a Q&A.
3. Stuff that you can answer quickly, with a nice, concise, helpful answer.
The problem is, those last questions represent about 5 percent of the total.
Of course, the other problem is that every conference planner wants you to “Leave time for questions, they love questions.”
So I pack so much information in that nobody misses the Q&A (I hope) and then encourage people to reach out to me afterwards, via e-mail or at the event itself, with questions.
It seems to work.
Now . . . Eileen: the Town Hall. That’s an entirely different ball game. Those things live or die by the Q&A. It’s the most essential part of the event.
But in that case, I think it’s important to gather the questions in advance, choose the ones that are the hottest topics, most relevant to the audience, etc., etc., and get those answered first. Then throw it open to any brave souls who want to ask a question live.
Steve C.
I forgot to add one thing:
Seminars are WAY different than speeches. When I teach a full- or half-day seminar, I not only encourage questions throughout, but leave time at the end (though I do try to move the Q&A portion to the bar, whenever possible.)
Because in those instances, interaction is crucial, and you have time to interact.
Steve C.
I forgot to add one thing:
Seminars are WAY different than speeches. When I teach a full- or half-day seminar, I not only encourage questions throughout, but leave time at the end (though I do try to move the Q&A portion to the bar, whenever possible.)
Because in those instances, interaction is crucial, and you have time to interact.
Steve C.
I forgot to add one thing:
Seminars are WAY different than speeches. When I teach a full- or half-day seminar, I not only encourage questions throughout, but leave time at the end (though I do try to move the Q&A portion to the bar, whenever possible.)
Because in those instances, interaction is crucial, and you have time to interact.
Steve C.
Thanks for that, Steve. You give three speeches for my every .04, so your corroboration is worth a lot. Later this week, I’ll propose a solution to the Q&A problem, and I’ll be interested in what you think of that.
Perhaps technical presentations are different than your speeches, but the Q&A following a technical or marketing presentation at a conference is the only way to check the pulse of the audience. Is this a topic people are already thinking about? Are there different opinions in the room? Sometimes people point out critical technical flaws that the author has tried to gloss over. I often learn more from the questions then the answers.
I also feel my presentations are reinforced when I pass this mini peer-review.
Yes, that’s a good point, John, and I’d say that the more technical the presentation (or tactical, as it’s called in the communication biz) the more useful a public Q&A.
But when true ideas are being shared, or inspiration … the questions you get (in practice) just seem to let all the gas out of the bag.
This is simply what seems to happen–and it’s why I’m searching, at least in my corner of the conference/speaking world, a better solution.
What if Martin Luther King ended his “I have a dream” speech, by saying: “Okay, let’s throw it open for questions. Who has a question?”
Steve C.
What if Martin Luther King ended his “I have a dream” speech, by saying: “Okay, let’s throw it open for questions. Who has a question?”
Steve C.
What if Martin Luther King ended his “I have a dream” speech, by saying: “Okay, let’s throw it open for questions. Who has a question?”
Steve C.
“… that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Okay? Now … let’s dialogue!”
Here are some alternatives to the Q&A. I’d love for you to add yours to my list.
http://www.vsotd.com/wordpress/?p=471&prod_abbv=vital
I have been always been fascinated by the art writing and I myself write some and my friends say i have a talent and I would like to have a job related to writing like writing speeches, I think it would be fun!