q&a on posters lecture

8/6/2019 Q&A on Posters Lecture

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Handling Q & A

Beatriz P. Lorente, Ph.D.


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Effective handling of Q&A involves 3

Elements

Thorough Preparation

Attentive & Active Listening

Good Answering Strategies


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Thorough Preparation is the First Key

It helps you to:

know what to LISTEN for

have a directory of ready ANSWERS toselect from


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You should prepare based on the

content of your preparation

hot spots: areas & issues that might becontroversial

short spots: areas that you cannot cover orchoose not to cover in the presentation

wart spots: areas that you know may not be

convincing enough (and which you hope wont benoticed!)


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You should also prepare based on your

analysis of the audience

What are their main interests concerns, e.g.based on the nature of their responsibilities?

Which part of the presentation might differentmembers pay special attention to?

What agendas might some members of the

audience have?

What types of questions do they normally ask?


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Attentive & Active Listening is the 2nd

Key

Listen for two types of CONTENT:

Ideational content

Interpersonal/emotional content


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Listen beyond content to INTENT, e.g.:

Genuine questions really meant to obtaininformation & understanding?

Test questions to check your competency? Trick questions to set or trip you up?

Vent questions to let off steam?

Challenge questions to push opposing

viewpoint or agenda?


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Make your listening attentive & active

by:

Preparing to listen: do a quick activation ofpossible schemata

Focusing your listening: key themes, key wordsthat are repeated, main question vs sub-question

Bullet pointing as you listen Back-channeling while you listen: deliberate

acknowledgement of points to keep YOUR mindfocused

Mental reframing as you listen: to focus onspeakers meaning, not words


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GoodAnswering Strategies

are the Final Key

BEFORE you answer:

Decide the PURPOSE of your answer

Force yourself to choose a STRUCTURE for

the answer

PRIORITIZE: decide what is the mostimportant point to begin your answer

with, or to emphasize through repetition.


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WHEN you answer:

Start by reframing the question to CHECK THATYOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD correctly: repeat,paraphrase, sum up, confirm, clarify etc

ANNOUNCE your structure to your audience (Ihave three points to make in response to this:first, )

Force yourself to stick to the structure

Speak SLOWLY, and use REPETITION


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Answering template

REFRAME question

[Provide In a nutshell answer first]

Introduce answer structure

Produce answer with clear structuresignals

Sum-up answer


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Important reminders

Focus on KEY ISSUES, not trivial details

Keep the BIG PICTURE in mind, andremind audience of this

Acknowledge that you dont know if youdont know, but promise to find theanswer


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What are poster presentations like?


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References

Atkinson, C. Beyond Bullet Points. Microsoft Press. 2005.

Lin, B. Effective Technical Presentations III: Handling Q& A (Power Point slides)

Mandel, S. Effective Presentation Skills. Crisp Learning,1993.

Reynolds, G. Presentation Zen. New Riders Pub. 2008

q&a on posters lecture

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