What To Do When Your Audience Doesn’t Ask Questions
You finish your presentation. You turn to the audience and ask, “So, do you have any questions?”
No one responds. Audience members feel uncomfortable with the unfilled silence. People begin awkwardly squirming in their seats.
You finally end their misery by saying, “Well, if no one has any questions, thank you very much for your time today,” and quietly walk off the stage. And then you crawl inside your own head, interpreting their silence as a sign that you were unable to capture the audience’s attention.
That may be a bad assumption.
First, let me admit it. If I ask an audience whether they have any questions and no one does, I’m disappointed. I’ll occasionally crack a joke, pretending I’m addressing the wait staff by requesting a few jumbo-sized pots of coffee for the clearly caffeine-deprived attendees. But I recently realized that those “jokes” are a bad idea, since they make clear my disappointment in the audience’s failure to pose a question.
That joke is passive-aggressive.
I came to that realization when my wife and I attended a child birthing class a few months ago. The instructor was terrific, but the information she was dispensing was rather intense (“If the cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, we may have to do an emergency C-section.”)
When she paused to ask if we had any questions, none of the 12 couples did. But it was clear that we were all listening and that we valued the information she was providing. Our lack of questions didn’t signify that we weren’t interested. If anything, it meant the opposite. We simply needed some time to process the information.
Sure, a lack of questions can also indicate audience boredom or a speaker who’s communicating at an inappropriately advanced level. But those audiences usually reflect that in their body language through signals such as heads resting in palms, tapping, or fidgeting.
So the next time an audience doesn’t ask questions, try to figure out whether it’s because you’re succeeding or flopping before automatically assuming that your presentation is a disaster. And instead of making a joke such as my caffeine one, be kinder to the audience by saying something such as, “I know. That’s a lot of information to take it at once, isn’t it? I want you to know I’ll be available to you as you reflect on what we discussed today.”
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Great catch. I’ve done the same thing too many times.
That is very useful reminder. Thanks. Will try this next time.
Sometimes if I supply the first question — “Last time I talked about this someone asked….” — it primes the pump.
Paul and Magdalene – Thank you for your comments. I’m glad this post served as a useful reminder.
Steve – I like your approach. I once read about this line someone used: “If no one has the first question, does anyone have the second one?” I wish I could remember the source so I could credit them for that witty line that always gets a laugh!
Ditto what Stev said. I always have a question or two in my hip pocket, whether it’s a live presentation or online. Audience members get performance anxiety too, no one likes to go first. If I’m doing a live presentation, I’ll use a question someone asked me while I was networking before the presentation, that brings currency. I’m also making a note to self not to make a crack before I use my own question, in case it gets taken the wrong way.
A basic communication psychology principle is that people hate a vacuum. So just wait. The silence will be filled by someone speaking up; a group communication behavior tip that works. You just have to be smooth, patient and a little courageous. But then you have to already be courageous to be a speaker. As they say in theatre, Break a leg!
Another way is: “The first question is always the hardest so I will throw that out. Now who has the second question” and then just wait. Someone will fill the silence vacuum. Been speaking for decades. Works every time.
I love your honesty, Brad (one of the things I push when teaching public speaking). I think the best thing to do is to thank them and tell them that you’ll be available afterwards if anyone wants to speak to you — which they will.
Thanks so much, Nancy! I regularly discuss the flaws of other communicators, so think it’s only right to take a hard look at my own practices and be honest about my own flaws.
Appreciate you taking the time to comment,
Brad
Several people commenting here suggested having a first question ready to break the ice. I agree that this is a good strategy.
Sometimes you even have the luxury of being able to “plant” that question in the audience, if it can be made naturally. Just ask a friend or colleague to do it if nobody dares to ask questions. This is often easy when you are speaking in your own premises; it is harder when you are speaking at somebody else’s place.
Just make sure people don’t think of it as a fake move. If your colleague can’t be totally discreet and anonymous, sometimes the best option is just to be sincere: “Hi, I’m a colleague of Brad and I’d just like to ask him if he could elaborate on [some issue] because I know some people here have been working on something related.”
Pedro,
Thank you very much for leaving this comment — it’s a terrific idea, and I especially appreciate your reminder to be transparent about your audience “plant.”
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Brad