Want a quick professional speaking tip that most speakers somehow overlook? Always repeat the questions that audience members ask you.
Why?
Think about it for a moment. You’re sitting in the back of a crowded auditorium and someone in the front row asks a question. It makes the entire audience in front laugh for several seconds, and you’re even smiling in anticipation to figure out what the person said. When the speaker finally talks, however, he simply says, “That’s a great question…nobody has ever asked me that before. I definitely agree, that would be a great strategy to test out this program.”
So there you are sitting in the back of the room thinking, “What the heck did that person say?” And this happens all of the time, simply because the presenter does not repeat the question into the microphone for everyone to hear.
The message this week is crystal clear- don’t be that person who doesn’t repeat audience questions. Even if it’s a bad one, it’s still common courtesy for you to share it with everyone. Since it also buys you an extra second or two to come up with a clever response, repeating audience questions is a win/win any way you look at it.