Dealing with questions – useful phrases
| Asking to repeat or clarify questions | I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that. |
| I’m sorry, could you repeat your question, please? I’m not sure I understood correctly. | |
| What do you mean by … exactly? | |
| Before I answer, could you clarify what you mean by … | |
| Rephrasing questions | So, you mean …? |
| So, if I’ve understood correctly, you would like to know … | |
| Let me make sure I correctly understood. Are you asking …? | |
| Admitting you don’t know | I’m sorry, I don’t know that off the top of my head. |
| Sorry, I can’t answer that. I didn’t cover that in my research. | |
| I’m afraid I don’t have that information but I can find out … | |
| Thanking for questioning | I’m glad you asked me that. |
| Thanks for that question. It helps to clarify … | |
| That’s a very good question. Perhaps I can answer by saying … | |
| Continuing after an interruption | Right, as I was saying … |
| Now, what was I saying? Oh yes, I was telling you about … | |
Making my point – useful phrases
| Responding to objections and criticism | You’re right there. |
| That’s an interesting point. Perhaps I’ll have to reconsider my views on …. | |
| Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll make the necessary changes. | |
| Yes, it has been claimed that … . However, I think that … | |
| I’m not sure that’s a fair criticism, because … | |
| Sorry, but I don’t quite see what that has to do with my presentation/work. | |
| Agreeing | Yes, and … |
| That’s a very good point | |
| I agree with that, and what’s more … | |
| Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. | |
| Disagreeing | Yes, but … |
| I’m not sure that’s right. | |
| Sorry, but I can’t agree with you because ... | |
| I see things a little differently. | |
| I think we’ll have to agree to disagree. | |
| Defending your point of view | The data I’ve presented comes from very reliable sources. |
| My point of view is supported by the research / survey carried out by … / by the report published by … | |
| This is a personal point of view based on my own experiences. | |
Defending your position
Starting with each of the points you are dealing with in your presentation, try to think of the questions the audience might ask. Use the grid below to list the potential objections and your answers.
| LIST OF YOUR POINTS | OBJECTIONS | YOUR ANSWERS |
| Point 1 | ||
| Point 2 | ||
| Point 3 | ||
| Point 4 | ||
| Point 5 | ||
| Point ... | ||
