Wednesday 101s: 5 quick answers to tricky questions

Wednesday 101s

It’s happened to me a million times – you’re in a meeting and someone (the boss, a client, a potential business partner) asks you a question you’re just not ready for. And instead of sitting there like a boggle-eyed fish blowing bubbles in a bowl, I’ve always wanted some sort of quick-response guide to provide an adequate enough answer to keep the meeting moving forward and to win an opportunity to respond later with the correct information.

I’ve said before that it’s imperative to go to meetings completely prepared (especially where figures/numbers are concerned, when it’s harder to weasel out of something) but you simply can’t anticipate everything – and, let’s face it, some questions are there to deliberately trip you up. But you can stumble, roll and stand up tall with losing credibility. 

The three main rules for answering questions are: 

1. Be honest. Don’t lie to cover up something you don’t know as it may come back to bite you in the ass later. Saying “I don’t know” is sometimes to your detriment, so avoid it. 

2. Be direct and confident, not defensive. A positive, pro-active reply will get you further. 

3. Don’t waffle. Give the exact information that’s required to answer what’s being asked in a simple manner. Baffling people with flowery, fancy words and jargon you assume they’ll understand doesn’t make you look clever. It’s just cringe-worthy. 

So here are five quick responses for when you’re asked a tricky question – it’s up to you to decide when to use them: 

1. The deliberately dumb question 

“I get what you’re saying but I believe the question you should be asking is...” 

2. The question that’s completely out of left field that’s really important 

“I don’t have an answer for you, but your question deserves a proper answer and I’d like to take the time to do that offline if that's okay.” 

3. Specific question about something, which is confusing or unclear (when your inner voice goes "huh?") 

“Just to make sure I understand, you’re asking me to....” rephrase their query in your own words to make sure you get what it is they want to know of you. Once you get clarity, you’re better able to craft your response. 

4. A question about your opinion on something 

Often, unless you’re senior management, your personal opinion isn’t in question. Avoid the urge to get into gossip, company politics and discussing confidential business matters. In your response, stick to a reply that’s true to your company’s or project’s ethos. 

5. A question that asks you to show your expertise 

“What we learned from working with Client X on Project A last year was...” 

I personally tend to favour response no 2 if I don't know something or haven't got the info with me. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. So if you have any responses that you've tried and they've worked, please add them as a comment.

Top 10 questions to ask yourself before you start a business

Dr John Demartini
Photo courtesy of The Demartini Institute

I’ve admired Dr John Demartini for a while. He’s an awesome guy with great ideas, some kick-ass wisdom and the knack of asking you the right questions at the right time. And if you ever get the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with him, jump at it! He’ll pull you firmly into line, cut through the crap you tell yourself and motivate you to strap on a rocket-pack and firework into the rockstar-genius you should be.

Yesterday, his name popped into my inbox again. He’d sent a mail that was all about adventuring into entrepreneurship for the first time. Bloody marvellous – the kick in the pants I needed and too good not to share. 

The mail started off by saying: if you want to open a powerful new business, read the 10 questions below. If you can answer “yes” to the majority of them, you’re pretty sure of success. “No” answers to three or more questions mean you need to stop, think and spend some time and ink strategising exactly how you’re going to turn the negatives into positives and enhance your chances of success. 

The bolded questions are all Dr Demartini’s; the italicised sentences below them are the same questions, just worded slightly differently to get you thinking a little more: 

1. Does your business provide a service you value and are inspired to deliver to the world? 

Are you proud of your product/service and excited to tell the world about it? 

2. Do you value yourself, your vision, your employees and your customer's dominant buying motives?

Are you 100% confident in your own skills, your business vision and the people who’re working with/for you? And are you positive you understand what makes your customers tick?

3. Do you provide your services at fees that offer true fair exchange?

Are your prices realistic; delivering real value at a competitive but fair cost?

4. Do you know how to determine your customer's values and what makes them make decisions?

Any idea what’s important to your customers, what their needs are and what makes them choose one thing over another?

5. Have you developed the art of communication in terms of your customer's highest values?

When you’re marketing yourself to your customers, do those messages plug directly into their needs, wants and interests?

6. Are you setting your business goals congruent to your highest values so as to achieve and build momentum?

Do your personal values puzzle-piece together with the goals you’ve set for your business? If they don’t, it may be a road block to progress/moving forward.

7. Is your life and business vision, model and strategy crystal clear?

Have you taken the time to sit down and think through your goals personally and professionally, and then plotted a realistic, time-specific path to achieve them?

8. Do you have a high value on building wealth and accumulating a fortune?

Are you only in it for the money? Will that objective harm or help your business?

9. Do you know your own business strengths and areas or forms of genius?

What makes you unique from everyone else in your niche and how are you ensuring that genius comes through clearly to others when you’re out in the marketplace?

10. Do you know how to govern your distracting emotions on your way to achieving your business dreams?

Are you too easily steered off course by pessimism or other negative emotions, and do you know how to push past them and focus on being a success?

Today I’ll be working on turning the “no” answers I got for questions 6 to 10. The concepts may be obvious to some, but I’ve not actually focussed on them and written anything down. Very unlike me – I love lists, tables, plans, strategies and charts! And if that’s what it’s going to take to focus my little venture with the precision of a ray-gun, then I’m going to do it. There’s a big world out there and taking it over R1 at a time is going to mean some sassy planning.

To the universe: thanks for this – and something better!

Dr John Demartini is a human behaviour specialist, educator, internationally-published author and a sought-after authority on maximising human awareness and potential. For more information on Dr John Demartini and upcoming events contact The Demartini Institute: info@DrDemartini.co.za or +27 11 011 9093. Website: www.DrDemartini.com