How Not to Handle Public Q&A: Lessons from a Pointless “Explanation Session” — Dale Carnegie Tokyo

Recently, I attended a government “explanation session” about a new subway line in my neighborhood. It followed the same pattern as a previous session on low-flying aircraft over residential areas: long, dense presentations, minimal real dialogue, and carefully engineered structures designed to run out the clock and suppress real questions.

Sadly, many corporate presentations fall into the same trap—formal, defensive, overloaded, and fundamentally disconnected from the audience.

Mini-summary: When presenters fear questions more than they value dialogue, the entire session becomes theater, not communication.

In the subway session, the bureaucrats used a slide show and then read aloud every word on the screen. Everyone in the room could read, but the aim was clear: use precious minutes on narration to reduce the time available for questions.

When questions finally came, a “navigator” would paraphrase each one—stripping away emotion and sharp edges—before passing it to the experts. This is actually a useful technique for handling hostile questions, but in this case, it was combined with vague, evasive answers. The end result: zero trust and zero satisfaction.

Mini-summary: Reading slides and stretching process details are classic tactics to suffocate Q&A.

Many business presentations look surprisingly similar:

• A navigator gives formal instructions and housekeeping notes.

• A President or senior leader reads slides prepared by subordinates.

• The speaker turns their back to the audience to read from the screen.

• A glossy corporate video plays—not to add value, but to reduce the speaking burden.

This style is common in Japan-based organizations, but the underlying problem is universal: leaders treat presentations as a defensive obligation, not a strategic opportunity to inform, persuade, and build trust.

Mini-summary: When leaders just “read and survive,” the brand loses and the audience disengages.

In both government and business, speakers often go straight into “answer mode” the instant a question ends. With no pause to think, they blurt out the first thing that pops into their head. Later, they come up with the perfect answer—two hours too late.

The real problem: there is no mental buffer between the question and the response. The mouth is faster than the brain.

Mini-summary: Immediate answering leads to weak, confused, or defensive responses.

The solution is to use a cushion—a short verbal buffer that gives your brain time to think while showing respect to the questioner. For example:

• “Thank you, that’s an important point.”

• “If I understand correctly, you’re asking…” (then paraphrase)

• “Let me just restate your question to make sure I’ve got it.”

You can even ask them to repeat or clarify. These extra 3–5 seconds give you space to organize your answer and respond with logic, not panic.

Mini-summary: A brief cushion buys thinking time and raises the quality of every answer.

Trying to bluff your way through is deadly for your credibility. Audiences know when they’re being “snowed.” A better approach is:

“I don’t have that specific information at the moment. Let’s exchange business cards after the session and I’ll get you a proper answer. Who has the next question?”

This only works when the question is narrow or highly specific—something you wouldn’t reasonably be expected to know on the spot. If the question is central to your topic and you still don’t know, that’s a professionalism issue. In that case, own it:

“I should know that, and I don’t. I apologize. Let me get you the correct data after this session.”

Audiences respect honesty far more than clumsy improvisation.

Mini-summary: Admitting “I don’t know” can strengthen trust—pretending you know will destroy it.

Every time you speak in public, you are putting your personal brand and organizational brand on the line. Evasive answers, unreadable slides, defensive structure, and poor preparation all communicate contempt for the audience’s time and intelligence.

The antidote:

• Prepare thoroughly

• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

• Design Q&A as a value-adding dialogue, not a threat

• Use cushions to raise answer quality

• Be honest when you don’t know

When you do these things, people leave thinking, “That was worth my time—and I’d listen to them again.”

Mini-summary: Thoughtful preparation and honest Q&A build long-term trust and reputation.

• Many “explanation sessions” are designed to minimize genuine questions rather than answer them.

• Government and business presenters often share the same bad habits: reading slides, hiding behind formalities, and avoiding real dialogue.

• Going straight into answer mode leads to weak responses and damaged credibility.

• Cushions (paraphrasing, acknowledgment, clarifying) create thinking time and improve answers.

• Honest admission of “I don’t know” is far better than evasive or fabricated answers.

Request a Free Consultation to Dale Carnegie Tokyo to redesign your presentations and Q&A approach so your leaders can handle tough questions confidently—and strengthen your brand every time they speak.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.