Q&A: How to Face a Firing Squad without Being Shot

My clients often fear the Question and Answer session. They feel anxious and unprepared because they don’t know what will be asked. They know their content but don’t know how to organize it in the moment. For some public speakers a Q&A session is akin to facing a firing squad.

Recently, I saw a news clip of a politician being grilled by a reporter. It was obvious that the agenda was to make him look bad. The reporter cited a litany of complaints and asked why these issues were not resolved. The politician jumped in and proceeded to answer the question. The reporter interrupted him and accused him of not letting her finish. He responded with “You asked me Why. I’m answering your question.”

She cut him off and continued to highlight issues and shortcomings.

The politician interjected, “Are you asking a question or giving a speech?” (He knew her agenda was to highlight the negative). He finished by explaining that he delegated the process to the experts who were better equipped to make decisions for their industry than the government.

He never lost control because he practiced positive public speaking principles for handling difficult audiences.

1. He listened but didn’t let the questioner ramble. He cut in and began to answer. Another alternative to interrupting is to say “What is the question?”

2. When she continued to dominate the platform with a soliloquy he challenged her. When a questioner won’t get to the point, the moderator or speaker can say, “Please be brief.” Or summarize, “What I understand your question to be is… “ and then answer the question.

3. He gave a clear explanation without apology or emotion. He confidently held his ground. It’s not effective to get angry with a questioner.

   Not all questioners are hostile or have an underlying agenda. Some audience members simply have trouble getting to the point. So help them out and stay calm, cool, and collected.

   The Q&A session is a forum for you to underscore your points, clarify your message, and provide information to the audience.

   The next time you’re on the firing line use these tips to ricochet those heat seeking questions and emerge unsinged.

Communication and Public speaking is a vital component of executive presence. Diane DiResta coaches executives to be influential public speakers. Companies hire Diane to deliver keynote speeches, seminars and workshops to train their teams in effective communication and leadership skills. Contact Diane

How to Rock a Virtual Panel

This month I was part of a panel entitled, Become an Author: The Time is Now. My two colleagues, Anne Akers and Sue Matthews were panelists. And I was the producer, moderator and a 3rd panelist. (Not recommended. You have to be super coordinated). Speaking on panels is an excellent opportunity to broadcast your message, build your brand, and increase your leadership and visibility. In the current digital marketplace, Virtual panel presentations are no longer optional. Leaders and public speakers must master this medium. Even seasoned panelists won’t excel online unless they learn the difference between virtual and live panels.

Roles: Every virtual panel has a producer, a moderator or Emcee, and speakers.

The producer must be experienced with the online platform of choice. This person is behind the scenes operating the controls. A producer may manage the chat function, handle technical glitches such as sound or video issues, and any other technical details that will free the moderator to conduct the panel.

The moderator makes strategic decisions before the event such as requiring audience members to wait to be invited into the meeting, choosing a backdrop, whether there will be visual aids, or if the event will be recorded. It’s even more important to cover ‘housekeeping” items in terms of how to use the technology and rules of audience participation. As in live events, the moderator keeps the meeting on point and manages the panelists. Introductions should be shorter. Two or three sentences per presenter is more effective than listening to a lengthier introduction. The major difference is the moderator needs to build in more frequent interaction.

The panelists need to keep their presentations and answers brief. A speaker who goes over the time could result in the meeting being prematurely disconnected. It’s critical to rehearse in advance and to err on the side of less information because the actual presentation will take longer with audience interaction. And if the panel finishes early , the audience will always value more time to ask questions.

Interaction: Here is where the producer and moderator can collaborate. Build in polls, make use of the chat, and encourage participation through icons-raised hand, applause, thumbs up. When the moderator is asking questions, the producer can monitor the comments in the chat room and respond individually or alert the moderator when their are questions.

Frequent interaction will engage the audience and prevent them from multitasking. A good rule of thumb is to interact with the audience when a panelist has finished a topic.

The moderator can maximize the chat by asking the audience for short responses. For example, during our publishing panel, I asked the audience if they preferred traditional or self publishing. I directed them to type a /T/ or an /S/ in the chat. It was fast and fun.

Screen presence: Color coordination is important consideration when dressing for virtual panels. Jewel colors work best on screen. We chose colors that complimented each other with royal blue, aqua, and purple. Since panelists may be dialing in from different places be sure that each panelist has an attractive background. One way to create uniformity is to agree to use the same backdrop. And when speaking as a panelist or moderator, be sure to look directly at the lens and not at the speakers.

Virtual presentations are the new normal.

How to Deliver Bad News-Lessons from Marriott's CEO

It was a message that no CEO or business owner wants to deliver. Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International, had to inform his employees of the impact that Corona virus would have on them and the company. He started out on the right foot with the title of the talk. It simply said, A Message from Arne. Not a Town Hall, not a Message from the CEO, but a message from Arne. He established a personal connection before he spoke his first word with his informal title.

Striking a serous tone, he began with a direct statement. “I”m here to give you an update on the effects of Covid-19 on our business and the steps we are taking to respond to it. Direct and to the point is the best way to deliver bad news. People are feeling anxious and want to know the topic and agenda of the talk. He also said “This is the most difficult video message we have ever pulled together.” The CEO established his humanity and authenticity with this statement. In other words, this would not be corporate speak.

Mr. Sorenson then injected some mild, appropriate humor to relax the audience. “Our team was a bit concerned about using video because of my new bald look. Let me say my bald look is exactly what we expected because of my medical treatments.” He acknowledged his changed appearance to assure people he was all right. Again, this humanized him as a leader and speaker and the personal reference created a connection with the audience. And he assured them that he was healthy and able to lead. He let it be known that he was focused on the Covid-19 crisis.

After establishing the purpose and establishing rapport, he delivered an excellent transition- “Now let’s talk about that crisis.” As a public speaker he got right to the point. He talked about how he felt, Next, he acknowledged the elephant in the room-his baldness and let people know he was ready to lead them through the crisis. Only then would the audience be ready to hear his strategy. He stayed away from abstractions and made the impact of the virus concrete. Effective leaders and public speakers create a picture for the audience and he did so with the next statement. “Covid 19 has had greater financial impact than 911 and the economic crisis combined.” He followed up with numbers. We’ve seen a 90% decrease in our business in China.”

He moved on to list the strategies and cost containment approaches that would occur, as well as the salary cuts he and his executive team would be taking. This decision demonstrated his leadership once again. He was not above the fray and would personally experience a temporary financial loss along with his employees.

Mr. Sorenson mentioned the positive signs of China’s recovery and once again relayed how it felt to give this news to valued employees. He talked about his eight years as CEO and the highs and lows of his tenure. There was a slight quiver in his voice as he was feeling the pain of this message. Mr. Sorenson assured his employees that “Together we can and we will overcome this and we’ll thrive once again.” And while he didn’t minimize the crisis, he ended with a message of hope and confidence. His entire speech was five minutes and 48 seconds. It was long enough to present the full picture and short enough to maintain attention. It was an exercise in executive presence. And that’s how to deliver bad news.

Press release: Diane DiResta Delivers Keynote at the FEI Leadership Summit

Grand Floridian Resort

On May 19th, the FEI Leadership Summit kicked off in Orlando Florida. The opening evening reception opened at Epcot Center. The three day conference held at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, offered keynote speeches, break out sessions and events.

On May 20th, Diane DiResta delivered her keynote, Influential Leadership: Transforming High Stakes Communication into Massive ROI, to an audience of 500 FEI members. And the following day presented a one hour concurrent session entitled How to Give a Knockout Presentation.

Other keynote speakers included, Craig Kielburger-Making Doing Good, Doable, Roberto Masiero-A Better Way to Work, former NFL player Anthony Trucks -Trust Your Hustle and artist Erik Wahl-The Art of Leadership.

The Financial Executive of the Year award was bestowed on winners from public, private and non-profit organizations.

About FEI

The 2019 Financial Leadership Summit offers professional and personal development, including networking opportunities in a knowledge-intense and enjoyable atmosphere. It’s an opportunity to join the conversation and interact within a prestigious community of like-minded peers to challenge thinking and share in challenges while strategizing for tomorrow.

About Diane DiResta

Diane DiResta, CSP, is Founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York City consultancy serving business leaders who deliver high stakes presentations— whether one-to-one, in front of a crowd or from an electronic platform. DiResta is the author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz, an Amazon.com category best-seller and has spoken on 4 continents.

Diane is Past President of the NYC chapter of National Speakers Association and former media trainer for the NBA and WNBA. She was featured on CNN, and quoted in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, London Guardian, and Investors Business Daily and Bloomberg radio.

Diane is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation held by less than 12% of speakers nationwide. And her blog, Knockout Presentations, made the Top 50 Public Speaking blogs.

Press Release: Diane DiResta to Speak at Financial Executives International

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY. October 11, 2018

Diane DiResta, CSP, author of Knockout Presentations, and Founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, a New York City consultancy, will be the featured speaker at FEINYC, Financial Executives International in New York City.

As a professional speaker and executive speech coach Ms.DiResta will speak about Influential Leadership: How to Communicate with Impact and Influence.

Today’s CFOs and Financial Executives must be able to command attention, influence analysts and stakeholders, and deliver a message with lasting impact.
 
In this interactive program attendees will learn communication skills of top leaders and how they:

• Create presence on the platform to command the room

• Get to the point to deliver a clear message

• Speak with confidence and exude authority

As in all her presentations, the audience will leave with practical takeaways that can be applied immediately to enhance leadership communication.

The evening will end with networking and a booksigning of the newly released 3rd edition of Knockout Presentations.

About Diane DiResta
Diane DiResta, CSP, is Founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York City consultancy serving business leaders who deliver high stakes presentations— whether one-to-one, in front of a crowd or from an electronic platform. DiResta is the author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz, an Amazon.com category best-seller and widely-used text in college business communication courses and author of the ebook, Give Fear the Finger. She has unique ability to get to the core of the message and translate complexity into simplicity.

Diane is Past President of the NYC chapter of National Speakers Association and former media trainer for the NBA and WNBA. Diane is a Certified Speaking Professional and licensed Speech Pathologist.

About FEI NYC

The Chapter is the premier organization for financial executives in New York City. The Chapter promotes the fellowship and interaction among its members and has active programs to enhance their professional knowledge and qualifications.

Since 1933, the FEI NYC Chapter has been successfully connecting Financial Professionals in the New York City metro area providing a truly unique forum to meet at live events (most of which carry CPE), attend general peer-to-peer networking events or webinars, gain access to the rest of the 10,000 FEI members, benefit from advocacy efforts, research, and career center.

FEI NYC strives to provide its Membership with unique opportunities to facilitate or cultivate the development and furthering of the Finance profession at many levels.

From robust programming and professional networking activities to our mentoring relationship with the students attending local colleges, nearly every FEI NYC activity will provide an opportunity for you, the Financial Professional, to either get what you need or share what you know. FEI NYC functions as a 501c(6).

Joel Osteen's Hands Betrayed Him

What do gestures tell us about a public speaker? We learned a lot about Joel Osteen's gestures during his interview about his response to the hurricane. Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on the city of Houston which is the 4th largest city in the country. There was extensive flooding requiring people to be evacuated by rescue workers and helicopters. Thousands of people were in search of shelter and could not return to their homes.

The question people wanted to know was Why didn't Pastor Joel Osteen open Lakewood Church to the people of Houston? The Compaq Center has the capacity to hold 16,285 people. After much criticism on social media, the center accepted hurricane victims on Tuesday.

When Joel was interviewed by CBS TV he explained that he didn't open his center as a shelter because he was not asked by the city. He further explained that the best places for shelter were where there were already resources, supplies, and personnel on the ground. It didn't sound convincing on the surface. But he still could have salvaged his reputation by admitting the mistake and being remorseful. Instead, he pivoted to his message points and gave what seemed to be a presentation. His hands were the giveaway. He used the same wide-sweeping gestures that are part of his signature style when he is on the main stage in front of thousands of people. The CBS interview was directed to three journalists (although it was broadcast to millions of viewers). In media interviews and conversations, people gesture more naturally with their hands closer to their body.

While using wider gestures may be part of the pastor's style, it gave the impression of formality rather than intimacy and sincerity. That is not to say he was dishonest. I'll leave that to the top body language experts. The point is this. To appear sincere, your body language needs to be relaxed and appropriate to the situation. Wide gestures work well in a stadium but seem exaggerated when communicating on a television show or satellite interview. For crisis communication to be effective, it's imperative to plan your delivery as well as your message points.

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