Dealing with Questions
Basic response order
Easy questions
Checking for understanding
Playing for time
Handling complex questions
Guessing at the answer
Putting off the question
Listen to the entire question
Pause
Credit the person
Respond to the question
Bridge
‘OK, well…’
‘Yes. I
believe…’
‘Right, well, as I
see it…’
‘Well, there are
two ways of
looking at it.
First…’
‘OK - I think I
can answer that
quite simply…’

‘If I've understood your question correctly, you are
asking about/why/whether/how …’

‘So you are asking about/why/whether/how …’

‘So your question is ...’

‘What you basically want to know is
about/why/whether/how …’
‘Well, just off the top of my head, I'd say …’
‘Well, my gut feeling is that …’
‘I can't be sure, but…’