In a prior article, we covered how to prepare for a Q&A session so in this one, we’ll cover how to handle the actual Q&A session during your speech.
Before you start your talk, decide whether you’ll take questions throughout your talk or only during a designated question and answer session. It’s better to designate a time for questions versus taking questions throughout your talk as the latter can throw you off topic and quickly consume the time that you should be using to give your speech. When I teach a course or when I give a speech to a small audience, I’ll stop for questions several times throughout my talk. I do this because I’m trying to provide a more personalized experience for the audience and in the case of classes, I’m trying to ensure that everyone understands the material.