Welcome back.

How was your first week?

Are you ready to continue?

Well, this week's communication lesson will help you when it comes to challenging

communication situations in the workplace.

Have you ever been in the middle of giving a presentation and

asked a question you weren't sure how to answer?

Did you notice how confident Catherine was when the board members asked her

questions?

Did you see how she didn't get defensive?

How was she able to do that?

As a matter of fact, there are various strategies people use to be able to answer

questions without being defensive.

Here are three strategies that are easy to remember.

First, be confident.

Second, keep calm.

And third, use the right words.

The best way to be confident about what you will share during a meeting, or

say during a presentation, is by making sure that you prepare ahead of time.

Not only should you know what you're going to say, but you should also anticipate

the questions that your audience might ask you, so you can always be a step ahead.

Another way to show that you're confident is by demonstrating good posture and

keeping good eye contact with those around you.

For example, Catherine shows her confidence when she quickly replies to

the board member's questions by saying that she helped with the inputs and

the charts,

to indicate that she was familiar with the information being delivered.

Being able to stay calm when faced with a challenging situation

is key to be able to think clearly in order to provide a professional answer.

If you become easily frustrated and defensive,

there is a very good chance that you might ruin a successful presentation by turning

it into a very awkward and unpleasant experience for yourself and your audience.

Did you see what Catherine does to stay calm

when asked a difficult question about the likelihood of issues happening again?

She pauses to think, and then answers.

By taking her time to think, she's able to answer accordingly to the board members.

Using the right words to respond to someone's question is very important.

Especially in a work environment, we wanna make sure that we

keep a professional approach to the way we communicate, and

we can do this by being selective with the language we choose.

For instance, there are two different types of language to be aware of

Blocking Language and Yielding Language.

As mentioned in Nathan Cobb's article from 2007,

blocking language includes words and phrases that signal defensiveness.

So this is the type of language to avoid with phrases like, no,

that's not true, I don't think so, that's ridiculous, I don't agree.

Don't these sound negative?

On the other hand, it is most beneficial to use yielding language,

because you'll be able to focus and

engage with your audience better by acknowledging their question or comment.

Here are some examples of yielding language.

Yes, and.

I can see why you would think that.

I see what you're saying.

I'm listening, tell me more.

I see your point.

I need to give that some more thought.

Did you find yourself nodding, too, while saying these?

Well, I don't know about you, but

these phrases sound much more positive to me, don't they?

It is important to remember that, above all, you want to be tactful.

People who are tactful can say just about anything without being hurtful or

judgmental towards others.

And it's all in the way we can say something with the words we choose.

Do you remember what words Catherine chooses in her responses to the board

members?

She uses words like solid and improving which keep her answers on a positive and

optimistic side of the spectrum.

So what do you think are some key takeaways from today's lesson?

Well, remember that in order to avoid answering questions with defensiveness,

it's important to be confident, keep calm, and

use the right words to respond to your audience.

What are some strategies you've used in the past?

Also, remember that blocking language signals defensiveness, but

yielding language is positive and

more acknowledging when using comments like, I see your point that.

Thanks for joining me today in our communication lesson for

our Business English for Finance and Economics course.

See you soon.

2.4 Answering Questions Without Defensiveness

Business English: Finance and Economics

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