The ten minutes after the presentation

Everyone I coach on presentations worries about the same ten minutes, and it’s the ten minutes after the presentation ends.

The talk itself you can prepare. You know the words, you’ve said them out loud, you’ve timed it. Then the questions start, and you have to understand a stranger’s question and answer it in English with no preparation at all.

Here’s what I tell them. You’re allowed not to answer. “Let me check that and come back to you” is what a careful professional says in any language. Say it in German and nobody thinks less of you. It sounds exactly the same in English.

Quick win: Keep one sentence ready for the questions. “Let me look into that and come back to you today. Leave me your email address.” Then you can check the facts and send a better answer than you could have given in the room.