166 - How To Ask Questions From The Audience
Speaking with Confidence with Cat Matson: communication coaching for humble leadersShow Notes
Ever been in the audience at a conference, asked a question of one of the speakers, and got completely tangled up in giving context? Well, that’s EXACTLY what I’m addressing today - how to ask questions FROM the audience in a way that elevates you, gets the answer you want and doesn’t get you all tangled up. This is in response to a listener question who said Many times I hear questions in presentations be asked with a lead-in that links some of the themes of the talk to the question about to be asked. However each time I try to do this I really seem to make a mess of the lead-in and then by the time I get around to asking a question the speaker is so confused about what I’m asking so we just have this awkward exchange where I repeat the lead in and question but get super nervous which makes things seemingly worse. Listen in to my (slightly rambly) answer to learn: How to frame a question in your mind, first
How to connect it to what the speaker was saying
Why it’s easy to over-think our questions, and how I do it too
The difference between a general question that will benefit everyone in the audience, vs an advice question that relates to you
How asking these kinds of questions is a powerful networking and profile building strategy
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