10. PUTTING QUESTIONS OFF (BE)

How can you ensure that participants hold their questions until a specific point in the meeting?

• There will be an opportunity to ask questions after the presentation.

• Please hold your questions until the end of the presentation.

• I'm actually going to talk about that in just a moment.

How can you politely put off a question if it's related to a point you will address later in the presentation?

• Great question, Jim. I'm actually going to talk about that in just a moment.

• Don't hesitate to stop me and ask questions as we go along.

• ’Thanks, Mika, that's related to my next point, so would you mind asking that again in a few minutes if you still have doubts?

What can you say if you don't have the information to answer a question during the meeting?

• Thank you for that question. I'm going to have to look into it after the meeting.

• I am so sorry, I don't have the information at the moment.

• If you don't mind, I'll get back to you about that after the meeting.

How can you put off questions that are unrelated to the main purpose of the meeting?

• If you don't mind, let's discuss that at another time so we can stick with the agenda today.

• That is unrelated question to our meeting and I will not answer that question.

• Could we address that in a separate meeting, please?

What can you say to remind participants of the ground rules if they try to ask questions at a non-designated time?

• If you wouldn't mind holding your questions until the end, I would appreciate it. We are going to answer questions after the presentation. Thank you.

• You'll have the opportunity to ask that question once Annie finishes her presentation.

• Thank you for that question. I'm going to have to look into it after the meeting.