Handling questions gets a little trickier when you have a “stage hog” in the audience. Here’s one way to plan ahead for the Q&A.
Stage hogs are people who like to be heard, like to interrupt, and have a need to be noticed. Before you know it, a stage hog can derail your presentation. They can throw off your timing and/or the focus of your message. They can also discourage others from asking questions or offering feedback during Q&A.
Plan ahead to prevent a presentation disaster. Here is a 4-step approach to managing a stage hog in your orgnaization:
- Connect with them in advance (via phone/face-to-face/e-mail)
- Let them share their thoughts about your presentation topic. Tell them you are looking forward to the upcoming presentation, and say, “I’ll be talking about ____. What are your thoughts?”
- Be attentive to their response. Then let them know the information was helpful; here is where you set the expectation: “During the presentation, I’ll be handling questions. I’ll answer most of them myself, but if anyone asks about ____, can I call on you?” You have now narrowed their area for being noticed.
- At the actual presentation, you can say to the audience, “I will be taking questions [throughout the presentation, at the end, etc.]. If anyone has a question about ____, [name of stage hog] will be answering them.”
If people want to hear from John on that topic, they can ask, and otherwise you will have the floor.
How do you cope with “stage hogs” during a presentation?