The Art of Answering Difficult Questions
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.

Ask a simple question and too often you get a rambling, complicated and confusing answer. It happens in workplaces every day. Previous columns have explored the power of asking great questions. This time, we offer some tangible tips for any professional who finds him or herself not sure how to answer one of the myriad of questions we get asked every day:

--Don't accept the negative premise of a question. Say you get asked something like; "Why is your system of delivering services so complicated and confusing?" Now, assuming you believe in the system in place, turn the negative premise on its head and respond with; "If you are asking me why we have so many checks and balances and safeguards built into the system, the answer is to protect our customers. Let me explain…"

--Sometimes we get asked multi-part questions and aren't sure how to respond. The best approach is not to try to answer all of the questions that have been posed of you. Option one is to answer the question you are most comfortable with. "You've posed several questions. Let me take the one about why I recommended this particular approach…" Another option is to turn the question around and answer with a follow-up question. "John, as you know you have asked me several questions. Which one is most important to you and why?" The key is not to get bogged down in a long-winded multi-part answer. Further, your job is to help the questioner figure out what's most important to discuss. (See our Web site www.stand-deliver.com for a past column on the art of asking questions.)

--Always offer an example in your answer. Even though you've stated your point and may have even provided some details, including facts, figures and other background information, sometimes a simple, concrete and relevant example will make an answer resonate and connect with your questioner. For example; "We were meeting with one of our clients last week who was using our XYZ product and he was saying how it has helped them cut their production costs by over 30 percent in the last six months…"

--If you are asked to speculate or hypothesize, use great caution. Too often hypothetical questions are dangerous traps that our questioner has set either intentionally or not. The risk you run in answering this type of question is when the questioner repeats your response, he often won't clarify that you were responding to a hypothetical question. Further, there are too many variables that make speculating or hypothesizing dangerous. Some options--Make it clear that you believe that answering hypothetical questions are dangerous for the reasons described above. In addition, you could qualify your answer this way; "Jane, as you know you have asked me a hypothetical question. Now, assuming all things were to stay the same, which is a very big assumption, here is how I see it…" Then, remind Jane that if circumstances change, so would your answer. Finally, you can ask Jane why specifically this hypothetical situation concerns her. The key is to put it back on Jane and encourage her to disclose her concerns. Then, if you choose to answer, you have more to work with and can customize your response.

--Sometimes, you can be asked a rambling, complicated and confusing closed-ended question that requires a simple "yes" or "no." If it does, then don't hesitate to respond that way. Never underestimate the eloquence of a simple, concise answer.

Write to me about a workplace or personal situation where a question really stumped you. How did you deal with it and what did you learn?

Dr. Steve Adubato coaches and speaks on the subjects of communication and leadership and is the author of the book "Speak from the Heart." Write to him at The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102, visit his Web site at www.stand-deliver.com, or e-mail him at sadubato@aol.com.

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